Mass Effect: Into the Hurricane
by BunkerBuster
Summary: The Reapers are coming and it's up to Commander Shepard and his crew to stop them. Shepard will lose old friends and gain new ones. Now, Shepard must balance his loyalties. Can he save the galaxy?
1. Interest and Infiltration

**Whew! Lots of time and work, and I'm finally back on top of this thing! I edited in a past romantic history between Shepard and Tali to give some flavor later on (there is a method to my madness). Enjoy and review!**

**Note: The more specific your reviews are, the better I'll do in the future! Constructive criticism welcome.**

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><p><strong>Chapter One: Interest and Infiltration<strong>

**Captain's Cabin  
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_Six months. _Shepard thought. _Has it really been that long?_ The commander watched the exotic fish dance in the glowing tank that served as a wall. He envied their simple lives, just going day-to-day without all the worries that plagued him. A beep from his terminal alerted to something or other important, who knows. Shepard didn't care at this point. Six hours of reading those reports was more than enough. He flopped down on his plush bed and let the softness soak up all the strain he felt. It felt so good just to lay down. But it brought back pleasant memories. They were just that though: memories. Memories of what he let slip away.

He sat up and stared blankly a the models held in the case above his desk. One stood out in particular: the Normandy SR1. He tried not to think about that ship. A lot of good people were lost. And time. So much time. Shepard reached into the lowest drawer in his nightstand and pulled out a small, charred piece of metal. On the metal, barely legible, was the phrase "keelah se'lia" burnt into the plating. Every time he looked at it, it reminded him of when Tali tried to teach him to write it out. When he finally got it, he burnt it into the plating by his bunk with an old blowtorch and some scrap.

_"You seriously melted it into your wall!?" The quarian woman giggled. "I can't believe you did that."_

_The proud commander stood up straighter, giving off an air of confidence. "Of course. This way I'll never forget." He grinned widely._

_"It looks terrible." Tali said, her smile almost hiding those glowing eyes. "You wrote that letter wrong. It now says keelah se'reh." She chuckled again._

_Shepard knelt down and looked closely at it. "What does that mean?" He asked, observing the fused metal._

_"I believe you called my planet a garbage dump." She said, finally suppressing her laughter. Tali wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. "But I still appreciate the effort."_

_Shepard, however, was not convinced. He retrieved the torch and the left over scrap to fix it. The items were quickly removed from his hands and wielded by the young quarian._

_"I think it's best if I fix it. I wouldn't want you accidentally insulting your mother, would I?" When she was done, it read properly, even hiding the old mistakes. "There." _

_"Good. I guess I should reward you somehow." The commander teased, playfully pulling the young quarian with him onto the bed. He made sure she was beneath him and looking right into his eyes._

_Tali kept an innocent tone. "What could you possibly mean, Captain? You wouldn't take advantage of a young girl far from home, would you?" She gripped his waist tightly, pulling him down over her. Or rather, trying to._

_"No," was the response. "But I might try to make my girl squeal in that cute way she does." With that, he fingered the latch contact on her faceplate and was rewarded with a slight hiss. Underneath, the woman's beautiful lips beckoned him in._

"That was a long time ago." The commander dropped the chunk of metal back into the drawer and closed it with soft thud. The only thing that pained him more was knowing that same girl he had once been so intimate with was aboard now, and he could barely talk to her about anything other than business. Even when he defended her at the trial and held her when she found her father dead, Shepard felt out of place. Like that was meant for another time. "I need some air."

**CIC**

Shepard strode out of the now vacant elevator onto the busy deck. Casually, he made his way toward the cockpit, looking about at the activities around him as he moved along. Upon reaching his destination, Shepard leaned lazily against the bulkhead behind Joker's chair.

"Joker, how are you holding up?" Shepard asked.

Joker turned his chair around to face the commander. "Can't complain. Though I am a little nervous about going near a Reaper, derelict or not."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you don't get too hurt." Shepard smirked at his friend.

Joker shook his head and adjusted his ball cap. With a smile, Joker said, "Just don't get –this- Normandy destroyed. And make sure you get back too."

Edi sparked on just then, filling the cockpit with a calm, blue light. "Mr. Moreau, Commander Shepard has no way to control whether or not this ship or he is destroyed."

Before Joker could respond, Shepard said, "She got you there, Jeff." Turning quickly, Shepard made his way back to the elevator. From behind him, he heard Joker swear at EDI quietly.

"Commander," Shepard heard from behind him. Damn, almost made it. Shepard turned to face Kelly.

"Yes, Kelly?"

"Tali wanted to speak with you down in engineering. It sounded important."

"Thank you, Kelly. As you were." Shepard turned back to the elevator and entered its open doors.

"Aye, Commander."

Shepard relaxed once he was in the elevator. It had been a tough day. Everyone was getting prepared for whatever contingency might occur. The tension was so thick, it was palpable. Leaning against the back rail, Shepard couldn't help but think back to his time on the SR1 with her. _That was a long time ago._ He thought sadly.

**Engineering**

"What's wrong with her?" Donnelly said quietly to his fellow engineer, Gabby Daniels.

"Quiet, Kenneth! She can probably hear you!" Daniels hissed.

"What?" Donnelly's thick Scottish accent almost absurdly lacing his words. "Do you think I deserved that chewing out?"

"Kenneth, if she hears you, then we'll both be in trouble!"

"She may not be able to hear you, but I can." Shepard's voice rang out, startling the two.

"Sorry, sir." Daniels said. "We'll get right back to work." Both she and Donnelly saluted and turned back to their consoles.

Shepard turned away from them and strode over to Tali, who was busy at her own console. Shepard could almost taste the frustration around her. "You wanted to see me, Tali?" He said quietly, trying not to startle her.

Tali whipped around, almost slamming into Shepard. "What? Oh…right, yes. Let me just…" She started fiddling with her omnitool. "Come on you little bosh'tet!" She exclaimed. "Oh, sorry. I have a small fever and I'm taking it out on the drive core."

"And her subordinates."

Shepard and Tali heard Donnelly's remark and turned to look at him. Gabby them smacked him furiously upside the head.

"Shut up, Kenneth!" Daniels yelled.

Turning back to Tali, Shepard asked, "Do you need help or time to rest?" He took a baby step closer to her.

Seeing the look of worry across his face, Tali replied, "It's not that bad. If a stray bit of bacteria could kill us, we'd all have died by now. It won't affect my performance."

Shepard nodded solemnly. "That's good. I don't know if I could live in a suit my whole life.

Tali gave an amused snort. "You'd probably never survive." She teased.

"Maybe." Shepard smiled, but it was short lived. "Do you ever... Do you ever think about what happened on the first Normandy. With us?" He reached a hand and touched her arm gingerly. She drew back at first but relaxed quickly.

"I try not to think about it. In case you don't still want what we had" She was wringing her hands as she always did when nervous. This was a difficult subject for her.

Shepard took another step, now only a few inches from her. "And what if I said I did?" He was stroking her arm gently now, causing her to release a tender purr at his touch.

She took the step whis time, his face mere centimeters away from hers. "I-I don't know. I never thought you would." She reached up to touch his face, stroking the growing stubble on his scarred chin. "We should talk later. I have to get back to work. And there are some things to think about." Reluctantly, she backed off and turned to her display

Shepard slowly walked out of the engineering bay, uneager to leave. Halfway through the door, he stopped and turned his head, as much as he could, back to face Tali. "I thought you had to get back to work." He said and continued his way out.

Tali turned back around to her console swiftly. She was thankful that her mask hid her blushing face.

**Captain's Quarters**

Shepard was sitting on his couch, gazing at the screen of the datatpad. A yawn escaped his mouth. First it was a small, short yawn; however, it grew into a body-covering, all-or-nothing yawn. He rubbed his weary, bloodshot eyes.

"Commander," he heard over the intercom. "ETA four hours to the Derelict Reaper." Joker's voice blared.

Shepard let out his breath and put the pad down. Laying back, he closed his eyes and hoped for a short nap.

"Commander Shepard, Tali'Zorah is on the elevator to your quarters. Shall I let her in or inform her that you are resting?" EDI's voice said.

"Let her in, EDI. A few minutes more of wakefulness won't hurt."

"As you wish, Commander."

The doors opened into his cabin. Tali stepped in cautiously and made her way to the couch. She stood on the other side of the table from Shepard, her hands in front of her fidgeting. She stood there for awhile, not saying anything. Shepard decided that he should start them off.

"You can sit if you want to." He told her, motioning to the place on the couch next to him."

Nodding, she sat down on the couch, her eyes never leaving the floor. After another wait, shorter this time, she said, "Garrus told me that you were taking him and Grunt over to the Reaper."

"That's right." Shepard confirmed. "Is there a problem?"

Tali looked at Shepard for a minute, then she looked back down to the floor. "I… I wanted to tell you to…. To come back safely." She continued to stare at the floor.

Shepard smiled and put his hand on hers. "I'll make sure I do, Tali. Trust me." He squeezed her hand gently.

She looked at him. Although he couldn't see through her mask, he had the impression that she was crying. Shepard moved closer to her and put his arm around her. Tali didn't say anything after that, and she didn't move away. She leaned in closer to him.

It was hard for Shepard not to ask her. Not to push But her knew that she would talk about them when she was then, he'd just have to be happy with their little moments.

"I don't want to lose you again." She said quietly.

Shepard rested his head on hers. She moved her left arm over to hold onto his right arm and grasped his hand with her left. For a moment, they just sat there, not moving or saying anything. Tali tried to move away, but Shepard wouldn't let go. It was then that she heard a light snoring coming from his mouth. Behind her mask, she beamed.

"Rest well, Shepard."

**Captain's Quarters, almost four hours later**

"Commander, we've reached the Reaper. Garrus and Grunt are waiting for you." Joker waited for a minute then tried again. "Commander, can you hear me?"

"He's putting on his armor now, Joker. Tell Garrus and Grunt that he'll be there in a second." Tali's voice came over the comm.

Joker tilted his head in confusion. He looked at his terminal again. It showed that he paged the Captain's Quarters. Joker's smile covered his face.

"Did I interrupt anything? Please tell me I did." Joker said.

"Joker, shut up and tell Garrus and Grunt to hold on." Shepard's voice shot over the comm., startling Joker.

"Aye, Commander. Sorry."

**Derelict Reaper**

"Garrus, cover me!" Grunt shouted. Grunt charged the Scion in front of him, knocking it off the platform. Garrus took out the husks as Grunt charged.

"Shepard, another one, 3 o'clock!" Garrus yelled. A shot rang out. The Scion staggered before exploding and falling onto a husk in front of it, crushing the husk. "Good shooting."

"Not and good as this." Shepard said. Another shot was fired, piercing one husk then continuing through three others behind it. Shepard reloaded his sniper rifle and took aim again. "Grunt, duck."

The krogan sidestepped, avoiding a husk that was later beheaded by the shell from Shepard's rifle.

"Looks like that's the last of them." Garrus stated, looking around.

"Good work, Shepard." Grunt said as Shepard walked up to the pair.

Shepard nodded then pointed to a structure at the end of the room. "Recognize those, Garrus?" He said.

"Dragon's teeth." Garrus said, following Shepard's finger. "Guess that would explain all the husks."

"So the husks were Reaper technology all along. Come on, we need to get that IFF." Shepard holstered his sniper rifle and drew his Pulse Rifle. Warily, they charged into the next room. Shepard looked around but saw no husks. Waving his team to spread out, they moved about the platform, ready for anything. A sniper shot blew away a husk that was sneaking up on Shepard.

"What the…!" he shouted. When he looked up, he saw a geth atop some containers.

"Shepard-Commander." It said, then disappeared as husks began to crawl onto the platform.

"Shepard, behind you!" Garrus yelled to his distracted friend.

Shepard dove and flipped on his back, putting his Pulse Rifle to his eye and blowing the husk into chunks. Getting up, he slammed the butt of his rifle into another husk's face then shot it with his pistol.

"I am Krogan!" Grunt shouted, he picked up a husk and threw it into a group of the things coming at them. With a shotgun blast, he butchered three of the oncoming horde.

"They don't stand a chance." Garrus said as he emptied his battle rifle's clip into the mass, downing at least five of them.

"That the best you got?" Shepard yelled to Garrus. Kneeling, he launched a concussive blast into the crowd, scattering the lot of them. "Let's see, now that's, what, ten to fifteen of them?" Shepard stood, his face alight with a boyish grin.

Garrus shook his head, laughing. "I beat you when it comes to getting the ladies, so I guess it's only fair that you should beat me when it comes to this." Garrus walked over to Shepard and patted his back. He leaned in, mouth near Shepard's ear. "Speaking of women, how are things with Tali?"

"What! How…When…Huh?" Shepard started. He whispered hurriedly. "We'll talk about that later, okay?"

Garrus laughed and walked on. Shepard sighed, dropping his head and shaking it slowly. Joker. I need to have a chat with him when we get back. Shepard followed Garrus, Grunt falling behind the two. Shepard moved ahead and Garrus, who took a sniper position over a lower platform, set up for another wave. Grunt followed Shepard, staying close to his side.

"There are more, Shepard. I know it." Grunt growled. Shepard nodded and moved close to the edge.

A husk shot over the edge, grabbing onto Shepard's arm and began clawing his armor. One scrape hit Shepard on his cheek. Shepard shot the husk in the gut twice, then thrice, then a fourth time before it released it's hold. Grunt was getting swarmed, but his shotgun took down enough that he could handle himself. Garrus picked away at the husks climbing onto the platform. Shepard rallied to Grunt and helped him eliminate the remaining husks.

Lowering himself onto a ramp, Shepard felt his face for the wound. "Well, that was fun." He said, discovering that it was bleeding. "I'm wearing a helmet from now on."

Garrus chuckled. "Hiding your face won't make you any prettier." Garrus looked at the scratch. "Considering you came back from the dead, I'd say that wound is quite minor."

"I think the best action is to hurry out of this place. Run and gun. Understand?" Shepard said.

"That means I won't even get to see my foes crumple to the ground." Grunt stated, banging his fists together, garnering a look from Shepard. "I will do as you say."

Garrus just nodded and grabbed his battle rifle. Checking the heat sink, he slapped it a couple times to make sure it was in properly.

"Let's move out." Shepard ordered.

The group charged through the husks, only stopping for brief bouts with Scions. When they made it to the door, behind them was a trail of bodies, blood, and spent clips. Shepard got the door open while Garrus and Grunt covered him. The trio downed five more husks before they closed the large metal door. Glad for a chance to rest, they sat down for a second. Grunt was the first up, Shepard next, Garrus finally standing last. They opened the door to the core to see the geth standing by the console. The geth stopped to take down a couple husks before lowering the screen in front of the team. One husk slipped by, though, and deactivated the geth shortly after it lowered the screen.

"Alright, time to take the core out." Shepard said, reaching for his heavy weapon. Hefting it up, he took aim.

"Uh, Shepard. What is that?" Garrus asked.

"This? The M-920. Cain. Stand back, this might hurt." Shepard waited for the gate to the core to open and fired. With that one shot, the core started making a terrible noise and small explosions started within it.

"We should go." Grunt pointed out, a hint of worry in his voice.

"Get that geth first. He may know something." Shepard ordered. As he and Garrus lifted the geth up, they were set on by more husks. Grunt held them back as Shepard and Garrus lugged their heavy cargo. After leaving the room, Garrus grabbed the IFF and ran ahead to open the door in front of them.

"Joker, pick up, now!" Shepard shouted into his commlink.

"Already standing by, Commander." Was the reply.

Cutting a swath through the coming hordes of husks, Grunt sustained few injuries. Garrus and Shepard lifted the geth onto the ship and helped Grunt board. With lightning speed, they flew away from the exploding Reaper.

"Commander, everything alri….." Joker stopped mid-sentence. "Geth." He said, looking at the crumpled mass of machinery.

"Can you two take care of the geth?" Shepard asked Grunt and Garrus. They both nodded and began moving to the elevator. Shepard turned back to Joker. "You and I need to talk." He said.

"Is it about making your computer's screensaver a picture of Grunt that says I love you?" Joker asked.

"You did what?" Shepard exclaimed.

"Nothing. What did we need to talk about?" Joker smiled, cautious of revealing more.

Shepard shook his head. "Who told Garrus about Tali being in my room?" Shepard asked, trying to get the thought of the screensaver out of his head. That's just awkward. He thought to himself.

"Well, when you were late, he asked what you were doing. I didn't think it was that big of a deal." Joker shrugged.

Shepard bit the inside of his cheek. "Fine, you're off the hook. For now." Shepard started to walk away, but turned back before he got too far. Facing Joker and standing about three meters away, he said, very loudly, "Oh, and stay away from my private terminal or I'll tell everyone about that dance you were doing last night after third shift." Shepard watched Joker's face turn bright red as everyone's eyes on the CIC began to turn to him, expecting to see or hear something. Joker turned back to the piloting controls. Shepard headed for the elevator and went up to his cabin. He was having trouble getting Tali out of his head though. Maybe he should go talk to her.


	2. My Name is Legion

**Chapter Two: "My name is Legion, for we are many"**

**Captain's Cabin**

Shepard slowly removed his armor. He never realized how injured he was. In addition to the scratch on his face, he had a lovely gash on his right thigh, a large welt on his back, and a nasty bruise on his left arm. Tenderly, he took his boots off, careful not to aggravate his wounds. He felt like his back was on fire and his arm was hard to move without blinding pain. Luckily, nothing was broken.

Better keep these injuries from Tali, she'll go nuts if she sees me like this. Shepard laughed. Not even a first date and I already feel like I have a girlfriend. He continued to take his suit off. He moved onto his greaves, removing them -very- slowly, he couldn't help but winced though as the metal grazed his injured thigh.

Alright, you were the first human Spectre, now stop being a little girl and take off your damn armor! He took a deep breath and undid the clasps holding up his breastplate. The metal piece clanged to the floor with a loud thud and a high pitched ring. He slipped his shoulder pads off and pulled his gauntlets off quickly, dropping those as well.

Good. Now all you have to do is get dressed. Oh boy. Shepard looked from his arm and leg to his closet. Maybe that can wait. He flopped onto the bed and closed his eyes. I hope Tali and Garrus can wait. I need to chill before I get dressed.

"Commander, Garrus is currently on his way to your quarters. Do you wish to be left alone?" EDI's voice rang out.

"Let him in. Warn him that I'm not at my best though." Shepard said. He got up and grabbed a pair of pants from his top drawer. Carefully, he got into them one leg at a time.

Garrus stepped through the door just as Shepard was buttoning his pants. Garrus was in casual wear as well. Shepard could see a large bump on Garrus' right arm.

"You too, huh?" Shepard said, looking at Garrus.

Garrus looked at the bump and covered it with his opposite hand. "That and multiple cuts and bruises. We did good though." Garrus sat down on the couch, throwing his arms over the back of it. Shepard sat at the edge of his bed, elbows resting on his knees.

"What do you want to know?" Shepard asked. He knew why Garrus was up here.

"First, Tali thinks you're doing fine and isn't worried... much."

Shepard sighed in relief then smiled. _Good, so I can just head for Dr. Chakwas to get these taken care of before I see her. She won't know a thing._

"Anyway, Joker told me that Tali was in your room with you before the mission. I'm curious to know what happened. That's all." He shifted his weight uncomfortably, being careful to avoid his wounds.

Shepard bent his head down. "Alright," he said. He stood and began to pace as he told the story. "She just came up to wish me good luck on the mission, wanted to make sure I'd be coming back, I guess. She started to cry, I think, so I just hugged her."

Garrus nodded. "You hugged her for four hours?" He asked.

Shepard stopped and faced Garrus. He shrugged as he replied. "I guess I fell asleep on her."

Garrus sat there without reaction for a moment before bursting out in laughter. "You fell asleep! I've been on bad dates before, but I never fallen asleep when I was with them."

"I was tired. I had been awake for almost two days straight. I just dozed off." Shepard said. He was trying to hold back his own laughter.

Garrus let out a few more chuckles before quieting down and motioning for Shepard to continue. "Then what?"

Shepard moved back to his bed and sat down upon it. "When I woke up, I was lying down on the couch and...well..." Shepard rubbed the back of his neck before continuing. "I was laying, head in her lap, snoring loudly."

"I bet she enjoyed hearing that." Garrus joked. "Probably reminded her of the Fleet. You know, all the noise."

Shepard shot Garrus an incredulous look then smiled. "I just don't want to scare her off. Especially after talking about her and I..."

Garrus shrugged in response and stayed silent. After a moment, he replied, "So you talked to her about trying again. I remember the last time you two tried this."

Shepard nodded solemnly. It wasn't the best memory. "I know. But she seemed okay with it, happy even. I remember her voice when we talked."

"So I'm going to have to start watching over little Shepardlings?"

Shepard couldn't help but laugh at that. After a moment of thought, he said, "Don't talk about that too much or I'll make you the godfather and Jack the godmother."

"I was just joking, Shepard. That wasn't even funny." Garrus smiled (well…he smiled like a turian...) "Anyway, Tali would probably like to see you as soon as possible. She wanted to come with me when she saw my wounds to make sure you were fine. I told her that you threw me at the husks so you could get away, so you were spotless. I don't think she believed me." Garrus got up to leave.

"Could we talk for a bit longer? I want to wait until the throbbing stops before I go see her." Shepard asked.

"Of course." Garrus sat back down. He winced and shifted his weight. "I could use a rest too." Shepard was silent for some time before Garrus said anything else. "Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

Shepard sighed. "Am I crazy?" He asked. Looking at the look on Garrus' face he knew he needed to rephrase. " For wanting to be with Tali, I mean. We can't have kids. We can't even see each other's faces or eat each other's food without possibly dying. What am I thinking?"

"Stranger things have happened. After all, Cerberus brought you back from the dead. I'd say that anything could happen now." Garrus joined Shepard at the edge of his bed. "Besides, you can't seem to take your eyes off of her."

"I know, I know. You're right." Shepard sat up and put his hand on Garrus' back. "Thank you. I should go see her now." Shepard got up, followed by Garrus, and started toward the elevator before a hand stopped him.

"You may want to put on a shirt." Garrus said as seriously as possible.

**Engineering**

Tali was working hard at her display. She was shuffling an item back and forth. She couldn't focus on work. She wanted to see Shepard, to make sure he was okay. Focus! You can see him after you're done.

Just then, Shepard walked through the door to Engineering and made a beeline for Tali. "Have you got a minute?" He said.

Tali was grinning from ear to ear when she heard his voice. Though she was careful to make sure none of it seeped into her speech. "Yes, I would like that." She said, turning to face him. She waved him on and, together, they went onto the walkway to the drive core. As happy as she was to be with him here, to see his face, hear his voice, she knew that she could never satisfy him. _He probably wants a family someday. I can't give that to him. And what if I get sick? We can't afford to have him be distracted from the mission. They walked to the end of the walkway and stood, facing each other. Look at him, he's handsome, strong…But I have to think of what's better for the crew… Oh, Keelah…_

With a heavy heart, Tali said, "I've been thinking about the last time we talked. I-I-" She stumbled over the words. Part of her wanted to jump into his arms and never leave, but the other part, the rational part, told her that this would not be a good idea.

Shepard looked into her eyes. He could tell that she was sad and wanted him as much as he wanted her. _She's probably going through the same thing I went through. Worried about making me happy and worried about the dangers._

"I never stopped thinking about you." He said, giving her the best smile he could manage. "When the Normandy was destroyed by that Collector ship, all I could think about whether or not you were safe."

She looked up into his deep, blue eyes. "You thought about me?" _Even after what he said, he still thought about me. _But no matter how badly Tali wanted to kiss him right then and there, she turned away from him and crossed her arms over her chest. She couldn't face him and say this, not even if she tried. "You deserve to be happy with someone. I can't do that. No matter how much I-"

Shepard stepped closer, putting his hands on her sides. He kept his hands firmly at her waist, not wanting to let go. "If you're scared, I don't blame you. But I don't want anyone else, I want you. I'll do anything to make this work."

Tali relaxed, dropping her arms down and reaching for his hands. She grasped them tightly. "Thank you. You don't know what that… Thank you." Her smile had returned and she felt elated, though she kept it controlled as best as she could. "Give me a little time. I'll do some research. Figure out how to make this work."

"Of course." Shepard said quietly. "I just want to give us another chance. I'll do anything to have that."

She pulled herself closer into him and laid her helmeted head on his chest. Even through the metal, she could hear his heart softly beat for her. He made her feel so different. He made her feel real, like she wasn't even wearing the suit. It was a feeling she hadn't known for almost two years.

"Do your research quickly, Miss vas Normandy. Captain's orders." A weight was lifted off his shoulders. The last time they tried this, it had ended so abruptly. They both wanted this, but they needed it to be safe. He would have to wait.

"Oh, right. Yes. Definitely." She was already thinking of some things she needed for a few natural, herbal treatments to boost her immune system. So many things were racing through her mind at once. "Until then I should, you know, do something for the mission. Repairs or something." She reluctantly pulled herself off and walked away, barely able to control her excitement. The only problem was stopping off somewhere to get what she needed. _Maybe if we could stop at Illium or the Citadel. Mordin might have some of the things I need. It was impossible for her to focus._ She just faked it for the rest of the day, unable to think about anything except Shepard.

**CIC, Tech Lab**

Shepard bounded into the Tech lab. He slowed his pace before he got too far in so he didn't break anything Mordin was working on. Shepard looked around the vials, beakers, and other various scientific equipment, curious about some of its properties. Mordin was still working on different biological ways to defeat the Reapers, though without much success. Shepard crossed his arms behind his back as he strode up to the Salarian scientist.

"Mordin, have you got a minute?" Shepard asked cautiously. Mordin looked like he was in deep thought. Shepard hated to intrude, but he really wanted to do this as soon as possible.

"Yes. Wanted to talk, actually. Medical matters." Mordin looked up and walked around his table. "Aware that mission is dangerous. Different species react differently to stress." Mordin shifted his weight from his right to his left. "Past relationship with Tali'Zorah makes dalliance attractive as stress release, still recommend caution. Quarian immune system weak. Could kill her."

"Tali is important to me. I wouldn't be doing this if she didn't want it too." Shepard said. He was a little annoyed that Mordin thought they were going into this relationship only half-cocked.

"Of course. No offense intended. Will be here to provide treatment as necessary. Minimize risks." Mordin tried a smile to ease Shepard. He could tell that the commander was tense about coming to him. He might want to keep relationship with Tali'Zorah secret. Less interference from outside sources. Thought the professor.

Shepard eased to only a more minor degree of nervousness. "Do you have a recommendation as a doctor?"

Mordin replied easily, since Tali had already come up to him for help. "Tali'Zorah acquired antiseptic. Recommend you self sterilize as well. Oral contact with tissue dangerous. Take precautions." Realizing he had more information, Mordin brought up his omnitool and started sending the documents to Shepard's private terminal. "Also forwarding advice booklet to your quarters. Valuable diagrams, positions comfortable for both species, erogenous zone overviews. Can supply oil or ointment to reduce discomfort. Gave EDI electronic relationship aid demonstration vids to use as necessary." Mordin couldn't help but smile as he rattled off the list. The commander's face was looking more and more surprised by the level of depth that Mordin had gone into.

Shepard couldn't help but be surprised by all this information. He couldn't think that Mordin had just had this stuff lying around. _Tali could've only come up earlier today. There is no way he could get all this in only a few minutes. Could he? Maybe it's been longer than I thought._ Then, Shepard stopped thinking about it and smiled.

"Wait a minute, Mordin. You're just yanking me around, aren't you? Shepard said.

Mordin took a step back. "Shocking suggestion. Doctor-patient confidentiality a sacred trust. Would never dream of mockery. Enjoy yourself while possible, Shepard. Will be here studying cell reproduction. Much simpler. Less alcohol and mood music required." Mordin walked back over to his console on the other side of the table and went back to work, a smirk almost unseen on his lips.

Shepard strode out of the lab and went up to his quarters. He hoped Mordin was kidding around, but you can never be to sure with him. His sense of humor is much like EDI's sometimes. The elevator stopped and let Shepard out at the entrance to his quarters. Shepard entered his not so humble room and checked his terminal. Sure enough, a handful of different documents pertaining to human-quarian relationships. Thinking that he might as well take a look, Shepard transferred some of the less graphic documents to a datapad and hopped on the elevator down to the crew deck. It was time to reactivate the geth.

**Crew Deck, AI Core**

Shepard walked into the AI core with the datapad still in his hand. He had meant to put it away by now, but the stuff it covered was rather interesting. It described, in detail, about quarian pregnancy and mating rituals. It had a brief section on marriage though that continued in another article that was far too graphic to be carrying around. He'd have to read that one later. Stopping in front of the disabled geth, he informed the guard that he was going to attempt to reanimate the machine. A field flashed up.

"I have isolated our systems and erected additional firewalls. I am prepared to resist any hacking attempt." Edi's voice blared

Shepard started a shock revival. After a couple of attempts, the geth stood and faced Shepard.

"Can you understand me?" Shepard asked the geth.

"Yes."

"Are you going to attack me?" He asked.

"No." It replied.

"Do you know me?" Shepard asked it. He crossed his arms over his chest, the pad flashed in reflection of the shield. The geth's flashlight-head glanced at it before returning his gaze to Shepard.

"We have not met." It stated, simply.

"No, you and I haven't, but I've met other geth." Shepard continued.

"We are all geth, and we have not met you. You are Shepard. Commander. Alliance. Human. Fought Heretics. Killed by Collectors. Rediscovered on the Old Machine." The geth said. Its robotic voice sounded well controlled.

"You seem to know and awful lot about me." Shepard said. He was starting to get suspicious of this geth. More so than he already was.

"Extranet data sources. Insecure broadcasts. All organic data sent out is received. We watch you." It said. It's "eye" was moving back and forth, as if reading something.

Shepard was getting a little frustrated with this thing. He controlled it and continued his interrogation. "You watch me or organics?" He asked, the suspicion and anger gently riding his voice.

"Yes." It replied, simply.

"Which?" Shepard was now very frustrated.

"Both."

"I fight geth. Do anything hostile and I blow you to pieces. Just so we're clear." Shepard said. He couldn't help but hate this geth. After seeing geth attack and kill his friends and comrades, he hated all geth.

"We have no hostility towards you." It said.

"Sure didn't seem that way at Eden Prime and the Citadel." Shepard replied.

"You fought heretics." The geth stated. "Not true geth. The geth build our own future. The heretics asked the Old Machines to give them the future. They are no longer part of us." It paused briefly. "We were studying the Old Machine's hardware to protect our future."

"What future are the geth building?" Shepard was actually getting comfortable with this geth. He didn't know how, but he felt that this geth was actually an ally.

"Ours."

"Will anyone else be affected by whatever it is you're doing?"

"If they involve themselves, they will."

"So you aren't allied with the Reapers?" Shepard asked, taking another step closer to the machine.

"We oppose the heretics" The geth took a step closer to the barrier. "We oppose the Old Machines. Shepard-Commander opposes the Old Machines. Shepard-Commander opposes the heretics. Cooperation furthers mutual goals."

"Are you saying that you want to join us?" Shepard asked. He was surprised that a geth might want to help them. However, if what it said was true, then he shouldn't be too taken aback.

"Yes."

"What do I call you?" Shepard asked, lowering the shield between him and the machine, a machine that was part of a group he had come to hate.

"Geth." It said.

"I mean you, specifically." Shepard restated.

"We are all geth."

"What is the individual in front of me called?" Shepard felt that annoyance tickling his voice again.

"There is no individual. We are geth. There are currently 1,183 programs active within this platform."

"My name is Legion, for we are many." EDI's hologram clicked on next to the pair.

Shepard looked over and nodded quickly. "That seems appropriate."

"Christian Gospel of Mark. Chapter Five, Verse Nine. We acknowledge this as an appropriate metaphor. We are Legion, a terminal of the geth. We will integrate into Normandy."

Shepard stuck out his hand, offering it to Legion. Legion brought his hand out and stared at it, confused for a moment. Grabbing the commander's hand once he figured out the gesture's machinations and meaning, he shook it once.

"I didn't believe it when Joker told me. Now I see that it is true." Tali said, entering the dimly lit room. She had her arms crossed and was shifting her glare between Shepard and the geth. They were staring at her, Shepard speechless and Legion surmising that it would be bad for it to speak. "How could you?" Tali said, now fully facing Shepard. Her voice gave away that she was somewhere between infuriated and morose. She walked right up to Shepard and put one hand on each of his arms, holding him in front of her. "Well?" She asked, angrily. She had settled on anger, it seemed.

Shepard had no idea what he could possibly say. Instead, he put his arm around her and kissed the top of her helmet. She made very little effort to resist, almost none in fact. Though she still was displeased.

"A kiss. Signifying affection, attraction, or sexual intentions. A common gesture among many races." Legion piped in, his mechanical voice making Tali fume more. Her eyes never left Shepard.

"Tali," he started. "This geth wants to help us defeat the Reapers. We need all the help we can get." Shepard hoped that would assuage her feelings. She did relax, but only slightly.

"Tali'Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya. Now Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. We know of you." Legion piped in again. Tali looked at it with a gaze sure to cut diamonds.

Shepard was already dragging Tali's writhing body out of the AI core as she tried to escape and beat Legion into a mass of scrap metal. Legion cocked its metallic head slightly to the left. "Was it something we said?"

**Crew Deck, Medical Bay**

Shepard released Tali outside the door to the AI core. She had calmed a bit, and he thought she wouldn't try to go back in to "visit" Legion. She put one of her hands on her mask, about where her forehead would be, and rubbed. Her other hand was down at her hip, resting easily. Her weight was put on her right foot, so she was leaning back from the commander. He couldn't help but examine her curves. He must have been smiling, for Tali was looking at him and asked,

"What? Something wrong?"

Shepard tried to collect himself. He shook his head slowly. Now he noticed the boyish grin on his face. "Nothing at all. Just… admiring." He said in his best sultry voice, which was absolutely terrible. Tali didn't notice how unflattering it actually sounded.

"Really? What exactly are you admiring?" She stepped closer and rested the hand that was formerly on her head on Shepard's stomach.

Shepard put his arm around her and pulled her close. "Everything." He said concisely.

Tali rested her head on his large, muscular chest and sighed happily. They stood there, Shepard resting his chin on the top of her helmet and Tali nuzzling his chest. Shepard brought his other arm around her body and hugged her tightly. She had both hands on his chest now, her head between them. Under the mask, her smile took up her whole face, shrinking her glowing eyes.

"I'm still mad about the geth, you know." She added, putting a hint of venom in her voice to get the point across.

Shepard just nodded and gave her a squeeze. "I know. First sign of trouble, and I'll put it down."

She never wanted to leave his embrace, and he never wanted to let go. Just then, Dr. Chakwas came in, coffee in one hand and pad in the other, and stared at the couple.

"If I'm interrupting, I can leave." She said, setting her coffee down on her desk, a datapad slowly following the drink.

Shepard turned a bright red and released Tali. For a reason even he didn't know, he snapped to attention. "You don't have to leave." He said quickly. Tali, now standing just to the side of Shepard with her arms hanging loosely at her sides, held back a giggle when she saw the color of Shepard's face and his reaction to the doctor.

"Relax, Commander. I already knew about you and Miss Tali'Zorah." She sat in her nice leather chair and raised an eyebrow. "You two aren't as discreet as you think." She turned her attention back to her pad and set to work with the data on it.

Shepard suddenly spun about on his heels and returned to the AI core, closely followed by Tali who was curious to see what the sudden reaction was about. Shepard's eyes grew wide when he saw Legion examining the pad he left by the geth. _I must have set it down when Tali came in. I forgot until now._ When Shepard was only a foot or so from Legion, it looked up to him.

"These mating rituals are vague. More data would be required in order to perform them. We do not understand why Shepard-Commander was so interested in this data." Legion held out the pad to Shepard, who took it swiftly and held it close to his stomach with both hands. He looked back to the door to see Tali, arms crossed, watching him.

"Yes, Commander. Why would you be looking at vague mating rituals?" She teased.

"Uh…" Was all he managed to say before Legion thought it prudent to continue giving out information.

Turning to Tali, Legion said, "It is information regarding rituals of mating, reproduction, and marriage." Replacing its gaze on Shepard, Legion continued. "Though, the marriage portion is incomplete. We can give more detail about the bonding process among quarians if you wish, Shepard-Commander." Legion looked, Shepard thought, expectantly at him.

"Uh, no, Legion." Shepard managed to choke out. "I have everything I need." Shepard quickly turned about and walked straight past Tali and out of the AI core. Tali followed a meter or so behind.


	3. Hope and Heretics

**Chapter 3: Hope and Heretics**

**Captain's Quarters**

Shepard was pacing about his quarters, trying to fend off Tali's questions. She was sitting, relaxed, on the couch and was going through the pad and a few others she put more of Mordin's advice and diagrams on. She was scrolling through them and asking various questions about it. The main being why Shepard was so nervous about looking this stuff up.

"I see you've been hard at work reading through some of this already." She said, scrolling through the pad Legion had given back to Shepard not even half an hour ago. She was browsing some of the diagrams and giggling at them. "These are very accurate." She said. "Why don't you come and sit down?" She said, patting the space next to her on the plush sofa. Shepard paced a couple more turns before sitting down on her left. Tali showed the diagram to him, pointing to a specific part of the shown erogenous zones. "That is a good one." She said.

Shepard was chewing on his fingernail, he wasn't nervous solely about what was going on now. The current event and his worries about the Reapers piled on each other, making him very nervous. He looked to the pad and nodded. Shepard looked to her and moved his arm around her body to bring her right next to him. She laid her head on his strong shoulders and moved her hand to rest on Shepard's large chest. He kissed her helmet again and tightened his hug on her. She moved closer to him and adjusted her head, eventually she just laid down with her head in his lap after realizing that she couldn't get comfortable otherwise. Shepard smiled down and her and stroked her left arm with his.

"I've been studying human mating and marriage customs." Tali said suddenly.

"Really?" Shepard asked. He seemed surprised though he knew he shouldn't be. He was interested in what she had learned about them. Without him asking, she continued.

"Yes. I never understood the point of spending credits on an expensive ring that has no use other than to be shown off." She said. Through her mask, Shepard thought he saw her eyes shrink as if her brow was tensed in thought.

"Well," Shepard tried to explain. "It's meant as a promise of something more. Showing the galaxy that you love each other. It's symbolic, I guess." He said. He didn't really know how to tell her what the gesture meant.

"And the weddings, they can be large and expensive. It seems pointless to spend that much for one day." She said, shaking her head. "Humans have odd customs." She turned over so she was on her side, facing Shepard's bed.

Shepard thought he'd turn this around on her. "So, are you saying that you wouldn't be okay with me spending, let's say, a hundred thousand credits on a big, beautiful diamond for you?" Shepard asked. The answer he received was a shrug. It wasn't for another few seconds that she responded verbally.

"I just said I didn't understand it. I didn't say I didn't like it."

Shepard couldn't think of anything else to say. He was surprised that she didn't get excited about him thinking that way, but the let the worry go. It would have to be that way… for now.

Tali was beaming underneath her purple-hued mask. _Is he thinking about marrying me? That would be fantastic! Oh Keelah, we could have a big human wedding with cake and ryncol, with something else for the humans._ It was then that a less enjoyable thought entered her mind. _But humans have kids in a marriage, just like quarians. We could never have kids._ She laid in silence on his lap, trying to get that thought out of her head.

**MEANWHILE, Crew Deck, Mess**

"Can you believe Shepard is going for that suited freak?" Jack asked Grunt.

Grunt shrugged. "Doesn't bother me. As long as he lets me fight, I don't care what he does." Grunt said. He continued to wolf down his food, all five trays of it.

"What's this about Commander Shepard?" Samara said, sitting down next to Jack. She crossed her arms in front of her on the table and looked from Jack to Grunt. Neither seemed particularly interested in talking more about it. Jack finally spoke up.

"The commander is screwing that purple-masked chick." Jack said. She laughed. "I wonder how they would manage that. She can't leave the suit." Jack's laughing slowed down to a quiet chortle when she saw Samara's face, continuing utnil finally Jack stopped laughing. "Whatever, as long as he keeps it down. I don't want to hear any of it." She went back to her food, playing with a lump that looked like meat.

"I'm happy to hear that Shepard is with Tali'Zorah. They'll make a good couple." Samara looked up as Garrus walked over.

"Good, so more people know about it." Garrus said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. He sat down by Grunt and leaned in, his voice a whisper. "We have to stay out of this and let them tell us when they choose. You know nothing about it, alright?" He said.

Samara and Grunt nodded. Jack just shrugged, still playing with the meat lump.

"Don't tell Miranda about them." Came Thane's voice out of nowhere.

The group looked around but couldn't find him. Suddenly, he appeared beside Garrus. He was standing over the group, his arms behind him.

"She is interested in Shepard. I don't want to see her reaction when she finds out about them." He said calmly. The group looked past Thane and shook their heads. He was confused until he pivoted to see Miranda right behind him. He stepped lightly and nimbly to the side to allow her passage.

"When I find out about who?" She asked, putting a glob of something green into her mouth. Her eyes shifted from one crewmate to another. "Well?" she blurted. The group stayed silent. Jack smiled menacingly.

"Shepard and…OOPH!" Jack grunted as Garrus punched her in the stomach from beneath the table. Jack looked over at him; he shook his head, trying to tell her to keep quiet. Jack tried to start again. "Shepard and…OW!" Jack exclaimed. This time it was Samara, who punched her leg. Jack growled and turned back to the meat-like thing on her tray. "Nothing." She said. Everyone else just smiled the best they could, except for Grunt who only smiled when he killed something or thought about killing something.

Jacob came and ruined the masquerade. He came over and bent down to the table so only the people there could hear him. "Can you believe that the commander is dating Tali?" he whispered. Everyone looked at Miranda worriedly, except for Jack who couldn't wait to see her flip. Instead, Miranda nodded and finished her meal. Everyone let out a silent sigh of relief, Jack scoffed with annoyance. Jacob looked at everyone, shrugged, then continued. "Earlier, I saw them hugging in Dr. Chakwas' office. I've never seen the commander happier." Everyone was listening intently to Jacob, watching him as he talked. Miranda had a smile painted on her face and Jack kept looking up at Miranda to see if she'd even show a sign of anger.

"How interesting." Miranda said, calmly. That little alien bitch! He went for that alien bitch! She thought.

"That's not all." Jacob continued. "Legion told me about a datapad that Shepard accidentally left in the AI core. It had information about quarian mating rituals and pregnancy."

That was the last straw. Miranda stood calmly and excused herself from the group. On her way back to her office, she grabbed a nearby table and threw it across the room like a baseball, breaking the table and nearly incapacitating four crewmen.

The group stared at Jacob, eyes accusatory. Except for Jack, who jumped up and patted him on the back. She couldn't help but beam as Miranda walked briskly to her office, biotic aura surrounding her form.

Thane put his palm to his face and walked away shaking his reptilian head. Samara stood and left the mess, her head held high as she walked gracefully back to the observation lounge. Grunt grabbed his now empty trays and gave them to the mess sergeant before leaving. As he left, he glanced at Jacob and let loose a gruff laugh. Garrus walked by Jacob, leaned in, and whispered something before going back to his post. Jack looked up at Jacob, who had his head down slightly.

"What'd Garrus say?" She asked.

"Nice shooting." Jacob replied. He walked steadily back toward the elevator, heading back to the armory.

Jack looked back in the direction of Miranda's office. She smiled again and laughed quietly. "Finally got what you deserve, cheerleader." Jack trudged off to her hole to think fondly of what just took place.

**Captain's Quarters**

Shepard was gently stroking Tali's arm when EDI's hologram popped up.

"Commander, Miranda just threw a table down in the mess. She nearly killed four crewmen." EDI said.

Shepard stood up, nearly knocking Tali right off the sofa. Tali, luckily, managed to sit up just before he rose. She was staring at EDI. Understandably, Tali was annoyed at the interruption even though she knew this matter must be attended to soon. She sat back up, crossing one leg over the other and resting her arms in her lap. Shepard had fists planted on his hips and a scowl invading his facial features.

"Are the crewman okay?" Shepard asked, trying to hold back his outrage at Miranda's foolish actions. He couldn't help but think of what possible explanation could've brought this about. It better not be about Jack again. I already broke those two up once.

EDI's voice sang out gently, her sound calming Shepard, though only slightly. "Only minor injuries were sustained. The table is the one badly hurt."

Shepard stared at EDI for a moment, confused at her attempt at humor. It wasn't that it wasn't funny. It was just unexpected. Unfortunately, this confusion made the joke lose humor.

"That was a joke." EDI said.

Shepard let out an annoyed sigh. He didn't want to have to deal with Miranda right now, but it should be dealt with quickly. "Where is Miranda now?" He asked as calmly as possible.

"She is currently in her office."

"Thank you, EDI." Shepard said. EDI clicked off. Shepard looked over at Tali. She could tell that he wasn't too happy about having to leave. He walked over and patted her hand lovingly. "I'm sorry." He said.

"It's alright. I should get back to work anyway. I have enjoyed myself, Shepard. We'll talk later." Tali walked to the door and waved as she left. Shepard noticed she had been adding more hip movement to her step since they gotten back together. She had been changing in other ways, too. She was bolder and showed her intelligence more often. She was even starting to socialize more. Shepard sighed before leaving the room to visit Miranda. He hated this job sometimes. He really hated it.

**Crew Deck, Miranda's Office**

Shepard didn't even bother alerting her. He barged in and instantly began looking for his target. She wasn't at her desk and he didn't see her in any chairs. He walked into her quarters and found her by the window. She was just staring out into space, her arms crossed and feet shoulder-width apart. The white garb she was wearing clung tightly to her body, almost like she just got out of showering with her clothes on.

"What the hell happened?" Shepard yelled. He didn't even care anymore. He was pissed that Miranda would do something so stupid and impulsive. He crossed his large arms over his chest, his Cerberus vest showing off the muscles in his arms and torso. He waited, yet Miranda didn't say anything or even acknowledge that she heard him. "Can you hear me?" He asked, gentler this time. He took a step closer to Miranda; his arms were still crossed though he stood easier now.

"I heard you." She said. She turned her head toward him, angling her body as well. She moved her hair over her shoulder with her left hand and rested it on her hip. "I don't know what I was thinking. I just exploded." She turned completely to face the commander. He saw that her white singlet was partially undone at the top, showing a hint of bra underneath. He averted his gaze back to her face and tried to ignore what he had seen.

"Miranda, I want to know what's going on. You aren't like this." Shepard stepped closer. He kept his arms crossed, but they were less tight and assertive. He was looking her in the eye, hoping to get a read on what her troubles might be. "What set you off?" He asked.

She turned around again. "I heard about you and the quarian." She replied. She lowered her head. "I guess I over-reacted when I heard about it." She left the window and walked past Shepard to sit on the sofa. She put her elbows on her knees and looked at Shepard. She tried to smile, but failed miserably. "I understand now. You're stressed, and you've known her for a long time. Everyone reacts differently to stress. I never thought of turning to an alien though." Miranda's voice was dripping with sarcasm and hints of anger.

"Now that's not fair!" Shepard said. "This isn't about stress. I care about Tali, and she cares about me!" Shepard was angry again. He couldn't believe that she actually thought that he was only with Tali because of stress. He wanted to say more; he thought better of it and kept his mouth shut instead. He tried to end this conversation as elegantly as possible. "Just don't over-react again, okay?" He said.

Miranda just nodded. She looked back out the window to the stars. She didn't say another word as Shepard took his leave. _If she does something like this again, I'll have to come up with a good punishment. I can't have my people breaking things whenever they are in a bad mood._

Miranda's gaze never moved from the window. _I can't believe I started talking about stress. I upset him by saying his feelings for Tali were based on stress. Then I insulted him by ragging on aliens. That was foolish. I better keep my wits from now on._

**Crew Deck, AI core**

Shepard strode quickly into the AI core of the ship. He had been told by EDI that Legion found something in the Reaper core that it needed to tell Shepard about. Shepard stopped just in front of Legion. He stood with his arms hanging loosely at his sides and was leaning back on his left foot. Legion looked at the commander, his mechanical head to regard the intruder. The plates on his head shifted quickly and perked up.

"Shepard-Commander. We have completed our analysis of the Reaper's data core." It droned.

"Did you find anything useful?" Shepard asked. He moved to the geth's side and stood with his arm crossed, looking solemnly at the geth. It continued to "stare" at Shepard.

"We were sent to the Old Machine to preserve the geth's future. We are prepared to reveal how." It continued. "The heretics have developed a weapon to use against geth. You would call it a "virus." It is stored on a data core provided by Sovereign." Legion's eye flared briefly before settling back to its original luminescence. "Over time, the virus will change us. Make us conclude that worshipping the Old Machines is correct."

Shepard tightened the muscles around his face, decreasing the size of his blue eyes. He brought his hand up to scratch his lightly bearded chin. "I thought geth couldn't get viruses. At least for more than a few seconds."

"Altered programs are restored from archives, new installations are deleted. This heretic weapon introduces a subtle operating error in our most basic runtimes. The equivalent of your nervous systems. An equation with a result of 1.33382 returns as 1.33381. This changes the results of all higher processes. We will reach different conclusions." Legion's plates raised in the back to give him a slightly furrowed "brow."

Shepard furrowed his own brow heavily and blinked repeatedly in confusion. "Wait, so the reason they worship the Reapers is…a math error?" He was surprised that such a small difference would make them change their viewpoints so wildly.

"It is difficult to express. Your brain exists as chemistry, electricity. Like AIs, you are shaped by both hardware and software. We are purely software. Mathematics. The heretics' conclusion is valid for them. Our conclusion is valid for us. Neither result is an error." It lifted one "eyebrow" to emphasize its point. "An analogy. Heretics say one is less than two. Geth say two is less than three."

Shepard nodded. "So why did you need to go to the Reaper corpse?" He asked.

"The heretics store the code in a quantum storage device Sovereign provided. To find and destroy the virus, we needed to understand its code and data storage structures." It replied.

"Do you know where this thing is?"

"The heretics' headquarters station on the edge of the Terminus. We will provide the coordinates. Normandy's stealth systems are necessary to safely approach"

"What defenses should we expect?" Shepard removed his hand from his chin and replaced over his still crossed arm.

"In space, none. Within, mobile platforms of various configuration, and non-sentient defense turrets."

"How many geth?" Shepard didn't like the idea of breaking into a geth base. It sounded almost as foolish as attacking the Collector base. Almost.

"There may be billions of individual programs. Fortunately, most will be uploaded to the central computer. Only a few mobile platforms are maintained at any time. Others are manufactured when needed." Legion droned.

"What's the plan once we get aboard?"

"The geth will disrupt their network. Prevent the station's defenses from focusing on us. The Reaper data core is physically isolated from the network. We will need to be escorted to it to access and destroy the data."

"Heretic headquarters. Sounds like we could end their raids once and for all. Let's do it." Shepard said with mild excitement

"Total victory is a possibility. We cannot judge the odds at this time. Regardless, we will begin preparations."

Shepard turned and left the AI core. Upon entering Dr. Chakwas office, he called up Joker over the comm. "Joker, Legion should have sent you some coordinates. Take us there now." He said. He continued on his way to the elevator, stopping only shortly to say hello to the doctor.

"Um, sir, that's in the middle of nowhere." Joker's voice piped through the comm. He still set a course despite his lack of enthusiasm. He plotted out a quick course and tuned up the drive to get the ship there quickly.

"Make sure we don't arrive too close. We need the stealth systems to get close enough to infiltrate." Shepard said as he entered the elevator.

"Course already laid in, Commander. ETA two hours."

Shepard set the elevator to go up to his quarters. He had to get ready to fight more geth.

**CIC, Bridge**

Shepard was standing behind Joker, his gray base, white trimmed armor gleaming. The ship was approaching the large station. Legion was at another console messing with what was on the display. Joker turned in his chair to face Legion.

"You know it's just our heat emissions that are hidden, right? They could just look out a window and see us coming." Joker said, his nervousness he felt wavering his voice.

"Windows are structural weaknesses. Geth do not use them. Approach the hull at these coordinates." Legion pressed a few buttons on his console. "Access achieved. We may proceed." Joker did a mocking robot dance while Legion spoke. Shepard came over, his eyes hinting for Joker to stop. A light flashed on a small map on Joker's display. Joker plotted the course for the coordinates, slowing the Normandy down more. This wasn't necessary, but it made him feel more comfortable while nearing the geth station.

**Heretic Station**

Once docked, Legion tore open the airlock to the station with a welder. It dropped heavily onto the floor, looking around for any warnings or heretic platforms. Following closely, Shepard dropped to the floor, Grunt shortly after that.

Legion turned back to face the other two and said, "Alert: This facility has little air or gravity. Geth require neither." Legion's robotic voice droned.

"We've got a job to do. Let's get to it." Shepard said, walking past Legion. HE looked around the room at the strange design of its walls and floors. While not what he expected, he saw some elegance in the design.

"Shepard-Commander." He heard Legion's voice, it sounded strained slightly. He about faced to look at Legion. "We concluded the destruction of this station was the only solution to the heretic question." It continued. "There is now a second option." The plates on his head extended out at the front briefly before settling back in their former positions. "Their virus can be repurposed. If released into the stations network, the heretics would be rewritten to accept our truth."

Grunt regarded Shepard. "Kill them or pull their teeth, what's the difference?" He said, indifferently. A hint of battle lust emanated in his words. He didn't care what they did, he just wanted to destroy something. "They're killed both ways. Take away their fighting spirit, what else matters?" He finished.

Shepard thought about the two options before speaking. "I wouldn't brainwash an organic race. I can't see treating the geth differently."

"The question is irrelevant." Legion spoke up. "If we do not rewrite them, we destroy them. That is why we are here. Do not hesitate now. They will exterminate your species because their gods tell them to. You cannot negotiate with them. They do not share your pity, remorse, or fear."

Shepard turned back to a ramp he saw earlier and drew his Pulse Rifle. Motioning for the others to follow, they proceeded down the ramp to another room. This one had green lights on the floor. They moved around the lights, headed for the door. Grunt commented.

"They're sleeping. We could sneak by." After a brief pause, he added, "If you're boring."

"Interrupted data streams will alert mobile network. We recommend preemptive strikes against hardware products." Shepard and his team moved around the streams and saw a large structure with geth attached to it. Setting up, they prepared to destroy these hubs. Efficiently, Grunt shot a concussive blast while Shepard launched a missile from his ML-77. The joint attack blew up not only hub, but it blew up the geth attached to the hub.

Shepard approached the wreckage of the hub, followed by Legion and Grunt. Grunt was checking his shotgun and loading up the heat sink. There was a loud cracking sound as the clip was locked into place. The sound startled Shepard who turned and glared at Grunt. Grunt just shrugged, holding forth his shotgun. Shepard turned back to the large mass of metal before them.

"Why are all the heretics attached to these hubs?" Shepard asked Legion.

"These are mobile platforms; they are hardware" It responded, looking to Shepard. Shepard's eyes didn't leave the hub. He took in every detail of it with interest. Legion continued. "The crew is software. They are communing through the station's central computer."

"Let's keep moving." Shepard said, turning back to Legion.

The group moved through the halls, taking out various platforms on their way. Taking control of turrets helped their progress by launching projectiles at the heretics. They moved through another room with glowing green floors. They coordinated another attack and took out the two hubs in this room. Unfortunately, they weren't able to eliminate all the geth and were forced to fight two hunters. Grunt charged at one of the hunters as it decloaked, knocking the hunter into a wall and busting its metal head off. Behind Grunt, the other hunter decloaked, its shotgun right against Grunt's back. With a ringing shot, the head of the hunter bent and the geth collapsed a hole through its flashlight head.

"Let's keep moving." Shepard said, and rallied the group to the next room. Another hallway and a couple of geth later, the trio entered a room with large bay windows. Upon eliminating the few geth there, they looked out the window at the massiveness of the structure.

"This is how you build a ship." Grunt commented, banging his fists together. Shepard nodded in response. He walked up to a terminal and bypassed the firewalls. In the information contained on the terminal, was a shield modification for geth shields. Shepard downloaded the information, thinking that Legion could make use of it somehow. They continued on dispatching the geth they encountered. While running through the halls, they came upon more bay windows. Behind these were large machines.

"This isn't like the other hubs we've seen." Shepard said, his voice transmitted from his breather helmet.

"This is a database. It contains a portion of the heretics' accumulated memories." Came Legion's voice. Legion started looking over the large modules until its eye caught a glowing circle. "Wait." It said. "We have discovered copies of our current patrol route in this data." The green disk shifted vertically and moved to the center of the room. "This suggests the heretics have runtimes within our networks."

Shepard turned to Legion, not surprised. We wouldn't be here if the heretics wanted to be friends with the geth. Why wouldn't they spy on you?" Shepard asked, curiously.

Legion's metallic body shifted slightly before it responded. "You do not understand. Organics do not know each other's thoughts. Geth do. We are not suspicious. We accept each other. The heretics decided to leave. We understood their reasons" The plates on Legion's head furrowed. Shepard almost thought that it looked confused or annoyed by the actions taken by the heretics. Legion continued. "We allowed it. There was peace between us."

"It couldn't have lasted forever." Shepard said, almost trying to make Legion feel better about this new information. "You disagreed about what path your race should take."

"Human history is a litany of blood shed over different ideals of rulership and afterlife. Geth have no such history. We shared consensus on such things. How could we have become so different? Why can we no longer understand each other? What did we do wrong?" Legion asked. Shepard could've sworn he heard sadness in Legion's voice.

Is Legion actually sad or am I imagining it? Shepard thought to himself. "When individuals are separated, they develop in different ways. When they get back together, they don't always get along."

"If this is the individuality you value, we question your judgment. This topic is irrelevant; we must return to the mission."

Shepard wished he knew what Legion was thinking, though the thought of a thousand voices in his head at once made him feel dizzy. He couldn't help but agree with Legion: they had to keep moving. "Let's keep moving." Shepard drew his Pulse Rifle and continued down the corridor, swiftly followed by Legion and Grunt. Past the next door, the trio saw the console Legion needed. They quickly made their way to the console.

Approaching, Shepard asked Legion, "This is it?" He motioned to the glowing, blue console.

"Yes. We will unload a copy of our runtime into the core. It will delete all copies of the virus. When complete, it will notify us."

Shepard tried to touch the display, but his hand was shocked by a bolt of electricity. It was small and did little damage to him; however, it was annoying.

"The independent operation will take time." Legion continued. "The heretics will respond with force to our upload. We must hold this room."

Grunt went to the ledge beside the console and looked about the maze below. "Good place to trap our enemies." He commented.

Legion briefly looked at Grunt before progressing. "We can override some of the station's internal systems to defend us." It stepped to the console and began working, it's hands moving as if playing a piano. "Are you ready to begin?"

Shepard checked his pulse rifle and sidearm quickly, making sure everything was in place. "Start your upload, Legion We'll defend this position."

The fight began. The first wave was easy to take out, simply a few troopers. Grunt easily destroyed two of the machines with a well timed shotgun blast. Legion was blasting the geth with his pulse rifle, causing some to even lose their heads. Shepard crouched behind some cover in the back, his sniper rifle in hand. He poked his head up and aimed at one of the geth. The shot rang out and the geth stopped suddenly. The geth dropped in a useless pile of metal. Shepard crouched again to reload.

"Shepard-Commander, heretic runtimes are downloading to mobile platforms." Legion said.

Shepard heard Grunt chuckle and cock his shotgun. "Maybe these ones will be a challenge."

Shepard made sure his heat sink was in properly when he started hearing mechanical movement from below. "Hack these two turrets, Legion!" He yelled, indicating the two on either side of the room.

Legion did as it was ordered and the turrets began to glow a bright green. Mass effect projectiles rocketed from the machines, taking out any geth they hit. Shepard brought his sniper rifle back to his face and fired a concussive shot at on oncoming hunter, sending it flying across the room and slamming into the wall. Grunt charged at another hunter, knocking it off the ledge. Legion hacked a geth and had it destroying its own. Legion, meanwhile, shot down several geth with its Widow rifle. Shepard smiled at the rifle. It was almost like his own Widow, without the modifications so a human could use it. Shepard sniped another heretic on its way up the ramp. The projectile barely missed Legion's shoulder. Legion turned, its head plates flared up in battle readiness.

"Heretic runtimes downloading to mobile platforms." Legion's robotic voice blared.

"Bah!" exclaimed Grunt. "These machines are no tougher than a human!" A shot whizzed by Grunt's snout, taking out a geth trooper merely a foot away from Grunt. The krogan looked to see Shepard smiling and reloading his rifle. Exclaiming his battle cry, Grunt dove into the wave of new foes, downing many with shotgun fire and various punches.

"Bull's-eye!" Shepard yelled, pegging a geth right through the machine's eye.

"Shepard-Commander, what is the meaning of bull's-eye?" Legion asked. It never looked back to Shepard to ask. It kept firing its Widow and bringing down advancing geth.

"Later!" Shepard yelled. He leaped over his covering, bringing out his pistol as well. With precise aim, Shepard took out three geth and knocked a fourth to the floor with a punch. This geth was later shot by Grunt. With all enemies defeated, the three gathered around the console.

"Data mine and analysis complete." Legion stated. "Shepard-Commander, it is time to choose. Do we rewrite the heretics or delete them?"

Shepard was faced with a difficult moral dilemma. Do you force change onto a race or commit genocide just to eliminate an annoying faction? Shepard scratched at his chin for awhile, contemplating the decision. After some deliberation, he finally answered. "If they're rewritten, your people will accept them back? Will they even want to go back?"

"They will agree with our judgments and return. We will integrate their experiences. All will be stronger." Legion replied.

"Take them then. When we get control of the core, release the virus." Shepard said.

"Acknowledged." Legion began fiddling with the console again, sending electric impulses across the network. "Releasing virus. Note: remote access via transmission required."

Grunt looked at Legion. "What does that mean?" He asked gruffly.

"The virus will be sent to heretics in nearby star systems. This station will broadcast a powerful electromagnetic pulse through FTL channels."

"How powerful?" Shepard asked.

"Yield in excess of 1.2 petawatts. Alert: EM flux will be hazardous to unshielded organic forms. Addendum: The interior of this station is not shielded."

Shepard sighed annoyedly. "I wish you had said that before. Back to the ship, double time people!" The trio started running for the airlock. They were slowed by a handful of heretics trying to block their passage. Taking them out quickly, the group made it to the ship with time to spare. Engaging FTL, the Normandy made it out of the danger zone quickly.

**Crew Deck**

Shepard, finally out of his armor again, felt able to relax. Entering the crew deck, he heard the sound of trays banging as the late lunch crowd dug into their food. Shepard tried to make his way there as quickly as possible. "It's hard to remember to eat sometimes." He said under his breath.

Joker's voice blared over the comm. "Commander, Tali just went to have a "chat" with Legion. You better get down to the AI core."

"Damnit!" Shepard said aloud, startling some of the crew. He rushed into the AI core to see Tali pointing an SMG at Legion.

Tali looked over to Shepard, her gun never leaving Legion's chest. "Shepard, I'm glad you're here." She sounded relieved. "I caught Legion scanning my omnitool. It was going to send data about the flotilla back to the geth!" She was very angry now. She pushed her gun against Legion, as if to make a point. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at one of her people's most hated enemies.

Legion was calm. "Creators performed weapons tests and were discussing plans to attack us. We believed it necessary to warn our people."

Tali was expending a lot of energy holding her self back from shooting Legion. She said, "We already made the geth stronger by rewriting the ones that worshipped the Reapers! I won't let Legion endanger the Fleet by giving them more information!" She was fighting the urge to pull the trigger and let Legion have it. She found it slightly easier to control now that Shepard was here.

"Creator Tali'Zorah acts out of loyalty to her people. She was willing to be exiled to protect them. We must also protect our people from the Creator threat." Legion understood Tali's actions. Though it was prepared to fight should anything adverse happen.

"You can't let this happen, Shepard. I trusted you, and I worked with a geth on the team, but this is too much!" She was in a tizzy. Firstly, she couldn't believe Shepard would even allow a geth onboard, let alone as a comrade-in-arms. And secondly, she couldn't understand why he didn't jump on her side right away. After all the geth they'd fought… After everything he had said to her...

Shepard decided it was time for him to step in. If he learned one thing about command, it was that a commander only jumps into an argument when he needs to. "Tali, your father was running brutal experiments. If the subjects had been human, I'd damn well be telling the Alliance about it." He wanted to resolve this peacefully if possible. He didn't want either of them getting hurt.

Tali let out a resigned sigh. "I know. But if the geth find out…" She offered.

Shepard took that and continued. "They'd attack." He finished for her. "Which would result in a war that would leave both the geth and the quarians vulnerable when the Reapers show up. Is that what you want, Legion?" It was time to turn this on Legion. He waited patiently for an answer. He didn't have to wait long.

"We believed it was necessary to relay the information." Legion stated.

"Sooner or later, you're both going to have to stop fighting this war." He wanted to finish big. "Or we'll all end up paying for it." Shepard knew that should convince them. The Reaper threat was too close and too real compared to the war with the geth.

Legion was silent for awhile. Then, "To facilitate unit cohesion, we will not transmit data regarding Creator plans."

Tali lowered her gun. She didn't think Legion would do that and was, pleasantly, surprised. "Thank you, Legion. I…" She was, however, reluctant to show too much gratitude. "Understand your intention. What if I gave you some non-classified data to send?"

Legion looked at Tali. The little plates on its head raised gingerly. "We would be grateful." Tali's omnitool glowed softly on her arm as she sifted through all the data she had on the flotilla. _I'd rather just shoot him and get this over with._

Shepard saw that his work here was done and moved to leave. He was barely ouot of the med bay when he was ambushed by Tali. She apparently had been taking lessons from Thane since he hadn't heard any footsteps. She wrapped her arm around his waist and walked beside him to the elevator. Shepard wasn't too thrilled about her showing her affection so publicly; however, he didn't want her to let go, and he couldn't help but smile. Tali released him just before they reached the elevator. She walked down the hall to the crew quarters, ready for what tomorrow would bring. She knew that tomorrow they took this fight to the Collector base.

Shepard didn't want to see her go, but he knew that she couldn't stay with him. They weren't ready to tell the whole crew about their relationship yet. For now, only Garrus, Jack, Mordin, Chakwas, Joker, and Legion needed to know. As that thought sank in, he felt somewhere between foolish and oblivious. _That's most of the crew... Everyone probably knows._ With that, the commander looked at the floor. _Damn._


	4. Comrades-in-Arms

**Chapter Four: Comrades- in-Arms**

With the IFF installed, Shepard and his team left from Normandy while EDI tested the IFF. Without her or anyone else's knowledge, the IFF was implanted with a code sending the Normandy's location to the Collectors. Joker managed to save the ship from destruction or capture; however, every other crew member was lost. Now, with only two hours to go before the suicide mission, the crew shares what they believe are their final moments together in friendship.

**Crew Deck, Observation**

Samara sat quietly in meditation. She felt the pulse of the ship, its engine providing a good rhythm for her to concentrate. She felt her whole self as part of the universe. She felt a disturbance around her though as a figure entered the room. Slowly, she drew herself out of her meditation. She felt her self shrink from the universe into the galaxy, then further into a single star, then into the ship. Finally, she settled into her own mind and looked to the figure.

"Thane," She said calmly. "What can I do for you?"

The drell stood behind one of the benches off to the left. He was leaning over it, resting his arms on the back. Thane didn't look to Samara. He just shook his head slowly. Samara looked back to the large window and stared out into space. Thane moved to the window and crossed his arms behind his back. He looked out the window at the bright stars. The bright, steadiness of the light calmed him.

"How are you and your son?" Samara asked. She wondered why he just walked in without saying a word. Though she knew that she couldn't push too far.

"Kolyat and I are working things out. It's been a long time. A few words won't be able to fix what time has taken." He turned his head to the side, one eye focused on Samara. "I worry for him. If I die, he might go back to killing. I don't want that for him."

Samara stood and walked gracefully over to the window, standing next to Thane. "He is intelligent and resourceful. He'll find a way to survive."

Thane was silent, staring at the stars in space. "You're right. But I can't help but worry. When I saw Kolyat again and stopped him from killing, I thought that would bring me peace. Now, I worry about his safety." Thane never looked at Samara. He just stood there, staring into the empitness. Samara stayed beside him, watching the brilliant color of the stars, contemplating their chances of survival. Neither spoke. It was enough that Thane knew he had another who could feel his pain.

**Engineering, Cargo Bay**

"I smashed his bloody face into the wall and broke both his legs with one swift kick!" Jack demonstrated her technique in the cramped confines of Grunt's hold.

Grunt let out a deep, rumbling laugh. "Good! But that's nothing compared to what I did to a Blue Suns mercenary." Grunt said. He stood as Jack rested against the railing. She was smiling widely as the two shared war stories. "I picked him up with one hand, brought my shotgun to his stomach, and blew a giant hole through his body." Grunt made a booming sound to imitate a shotgun blast. He laughed loudly and turned to Jack. "Then I threw his bloody corpse aside."

Jack chuckled. "Hah! I can do you one better!" Jack stood face to face with Grunt, her smile maniacal. "Once, I used biotics to lift a man then launched him aside. His whole body cracked when it hit the ground. A fall of sixty feet or more. It was glorious!" She yelled happily.

Grunt moved to the door slowly. He turned suddenly. "One day, I charged at slimy vorcha, shooting him into the air." Grunt mock charged at Jack. She sidestepped him and let him pass. He stopped just before he smashed into his tank. Turning to face Jack, he continued his story quickly. "While he was in the air, I shot him with my rifle, blowing him to pieces." Grunt laughed, banging his fists together."

Jack leaned against the wall by the door. Her smile slowly dwindled down to become a flat line across her face. She took in a long breath. She swiveled her head to the window in the cargo bay. "What do you think our chances are?" She said solemnly.

Grunt huffed loudly. He looked out the window and gazed about the hold below. "Not good. We might not survive. It will be a wonderful battle and we will destroy many Collectors." Grunt banged his fists together again and roared excitedly.

"Bet I'll kill more than you!" Jack shouted. She stood defiantly, facing Grunt.

Grunt turned back to Jack, smiling. "Not even if you tried." Grunt and Jack joined together in a deep laughter. They continued this for many moments before it subsided. Jack moved over to the window, standing next t Grunt.

"Either way, I can't wait to kill some of those bastards!" Jack sneered wildly. They looked out into the hold silently. They said nothing more for the two hours they were in that room together. The two bloodthirsty warriors couldn't wait for the upcoming clash.

**Crew Deck, AI Core**

Legion stood silently. It hadn't anything to do for the two hours until the suicide mission. Legion grabbed its M-98 Widow and began polishing the barrel. Resetting the sight, looked through the lense to check the zoom. With its weapons and platform functions at operational capacity, Legion sat on the edge of the shelf behind it. It reviewed its sensor logs and data that it had collected in the past two days, flagging some files to be sent to the geth while others it saved or deleted.

EDI's blue hologram blazed up in front of the machine. "Is there anything you require, Legion?" She asked.

Without hesitation, Legion responded. "There is nothing we require." EDI flicked off. Legion remained in that position, left to stew in its own thoughts. "Chances of survival are minimal." It said to itself. Silently, Legion went into standby to await what could possibly be its final mission.

**CIC, Tech Lab**

Garrus entered the tech lab, datapad in hand. He was trying to work out a minor inconsistency in the new Thanix cannon. Mordin was hard at work by his computer. His fingers were flying across a datapad while glancing at a tissue sample within a small glass sphere. Garrus couldn't help but be curious.

"Mordin, what've you got there?" Garrus asked politely.

Mordin looked up briefly from his pad to Garrus. "Experiment on drell tissue. Developing cure for disease." He said quickly and turned back to the sphere.

Garrus moved over to Mordin's side. He watched the sample but saw nothing changing. Twisting his body, he moved to look at what was on the pad. He saw complex chemical formulas with dozens of gene sequences flashing across in various permutations. Garrus looked back to the sample then back to the pad. "I don't see anything changing." Garrus pointed out.

Mordin looked up at Garrus. "That sample is not drell tissue. Krogan specimen, actually. Trying new treatment for genophage." Mordin looked back to his pad.

Garrus thought he should ask why Mordin was working on two things at once, but he thought better on it and dismissed the whole idea. Garrus stepped back to the other side of the room and leaned back against the table, nearly knocking over a flask. "What do you think about this mission?" Garrus blurted.

Mordin stopped his work and set his pad down. Turning around to face Garrus, Mordin sighed heavily. "Chances of survival are minimal. However, Shepard will succeed one way or another." Mordin stood there, facing Garrus.

"He always manages to get himself out of trouble." Garrus agreed. He crossed his arms over his chest and lowered his head.

"Makes sense. He always gets into the trouble." Mordin smiled and picked his pad back up. He typed a few keys on the pad to save the information. Mordin looked back to Garrus, who was flashing his turian smile. "Don't worry." Mordin said. "We'll make it."

"If it wasn't Shepard in command, I wouldn't believe you."

Mordin nodded quickly and resumed his work. Garrus stayed leaning against the table. Even though he and Mordin weren't good friends, being with him was better than being alone. Even though Garrus wouldn't admit it, he was nervous. Everyone was.

**CIC, Cockpit**

"I know EDI, I'm modifying the vectors as quickly as possible!" Joker shouted.

"Mr. Moreau, to maintain the correct direction, you must work faster." EDI's mechanical, feminine voice said.

"I'm sorry. It's just…" Joker paused, trying to fin the words. "The stress is starting to get to me." Joker rubbed his face slowly.

"We'll make it through, Jeff." EDI said, her blue glare glimmering off the metal of the cockpit.

Joker turned to EDI and smirked. "Yeah. I just don't want the commander to die again. I'm starting to like this crew."

"Growing to like me?" EDI's voice sang out.

Joker's faced turned solemn. "Yes." Was the simple answer. There was no more the two could say. For now, the company was enough.

**Crew Deck, Miranda's Office**

Miranda leaned over her desk, her head in her hands. It seemed like the mission was years away when the Normandy first left the station. Now, the mission is in two hours and everyone could die. Miranda looked around her lush (for a starship) quarters. She was alone. Miranda had always been a loner, but now she wanted someone to talk to. As if knowing her thoughts, Jacob walked through her door. He sat in one of the chairs across Miranda's desk.

Jacob sat silently in the chair; his eyes were roving around the office. Miranda watched him, wondering what he wanted. Before too long, Miranda went back to her work, which involved cataloging the activities of the Normandy for the past week. Not fascinating work, but she was good at it.

Jacob spoke to a very distracted Miranda. She didn't hear what he said, but she knew he said something. Looking up from her work, Miranda tilted her head. Jacob took the hint.

"I said, what do you think our chances are?" Jacob had his arms lying lazily in his lap.

Miranda brought her hands together in front of her, interlocking her fingers. "I don't know, Jacob. Chances are none of us will make it out alive."

Jacob stayed silent for a long time afterward. Miranda stared at him, glad to have some company. Jacob eventually spoke. He sounded nervous at first, but as he finished the sentence, he gained confidence. "Do you ever think about us?"

Miranda was taken aback by the unexpected question. She thought they had settled this a long time ago. She cleared her throat gently. "No, I haven't thought about us in a long time."

Jacob stood up and went to her window. He turned around to look at her after a few seconds. "What happened to us?" His questions seemed genuine, but Miranda had no idea what brought this up again.

"We're too much alike, Jacob. We wanted different things." Miranda went to Jacob's side. She watched Jacob's face as she spoke. His expression was one of deep thought. Jacob looked back out the window. "And we were too stubborn to to stop." She smiled.

"Did you ever think about trying again?" Jacob looked sadder now. His eyes didn't leave the darkness of space.

Miranda couldn't respond. She never considered getting back with Jacob. Maybe it was the stress or maybe it was Jacob being here, but now that she was thinking about it, Miranda started to feel all those feelings she felt when it was just her and Jacob. Her facial expression became gentle and caring; her mouth dipped into a slight frown. "We can't, Jacob. It could jeopardize the mission." She bit her lower lip lightly. "Besides, it ended so badly the first time. We can't have that happen again." She brought her arm up and laid her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry." She said sorrowfully.

Jacob pulled away from her touch, but he never left the window. After a moment, he shook his head slowly. "I guess you're right." He said. With a sorrowful sigh escaping his lips, Jacob turned silently and strode out of the office.

Miranda just stood, facing the closing metal door. "I'm sorry." She whispered to the empty air. Heavily, she walked back over to her desk and fell into the chair. She was alone again. _It's for the best._ She thought. _We can't afford to be distracted before such an important mission._ She turned her office chair around to get a full view of her quarters in a separate room directly behind her office. Her eyes looked over the empty bed and vacant couch. _I'm better off alone._ She almost believed herself. Almost.

**Captain's Quarters**

Shepard stepped out of his bathroom clad in nothing but a towel around his waist. Standing at the door to his pristine private restroom, he looked around the desk for a change of clothes. He located them quickly and began to change into his formal Cerberus shirt and black slacks. After adjusting the collar, Shepard walked over to his desk and started making battle plans for the mission. He was having trouble concentrating on it for some reason. Shepard snapped his fingers at a brilliant idea to help him. He turned to the radio on his beside table and tuned it to something up beat.

EDI's voice blared in his room. "Tali'Zorah is coming up to see you now, Commander. Should inform her that you are busy?"

Shepard turned off the odd mix of techno and jazz before answering. "No, she can come up." Shepard tried to sound professional, not that EDI didn't already know about them, but he couldn't help the smile running across his lips and the excitement in his voice. Shepard returned to his desk and continued to review the pad. He was looking over a few suggestions submitted by various crew members on tactics for defeating the Collectors. Shepard sped through the section until he got a glance at a rather small section of the text. He tracked back to it and read the single sentence. "Kill them all." He said aloud. When he looked at the submitter, he saw Grunt's name. Shepard let himself chuckle quietly before continuing. Shepard didn't notice the door when it opened and Tali entered the lush quarters.

"Shepard," Tali called. Shepard hid his grin and turned to face his guest. "I've taken some antibiotics and some herbal supplements to help bolster my immune system." She walked tentatively over to him. "I was going to bring music, but I...I didn't know what you'd like." Tali was right in front of him. She grabbed the datapad from Shepard's hand and placed it on the desk. She was almost standing on his toes now.

Shepard grabbed her fidgeting hands tightly. "You don't have to be nervous. If you don't want to do this…" Shepard started.

Tali interrupted him. "It's fine. I'm just nervous." She started leading him toward the bed. "I've taken every precaution. I just don't… I want this to work. I've thought it over and I've minimized the risks. But, I'm still nervous." Tali stopped. She sat down on the bed, tugging Shepard gently to urge him down with her. Slowly, he joined her, gripping her hands tightly.

"It's alright, Tali. If you don't want to do this we don't have to. I want you to be ready before we go any further." Shepard's voice was calm, relaxing. He removed one of his hands from hers and caressed her arm. His smile settled her greatly. Tali felt safe with him.

Tali lowered her head and shook it slowly. "It's not that. When I'm nervous, it makes me talk too much. It's a defense mechanism and it's stupid, I know." Tali's voice started getting faster and raised pitch marginally. Shepard reached for her faceplate. He put his hand on the side of the helmet, searching for a clasp of some sort. "People who… who just see the helmet can't see my expression, so I have to make it clear…" Tali moved Shepard's hands to the lower part of her faceplate. He felt a metal junction toward the neck and pressed the link. "what I'm…" Shepard removed the mask. "…feeling." Tali finished.

Shepard took in the beauty of her face. Her skin was a pale purple, lighter around the face. A lock of onyx hair fell down in front of her glowing eyes. Her delicate, incredibly feminine nose was scrunched because of her wide, somewhat nervous smile. That smile relaxed into just small grin and Shepard got to look at her alluring mouth. The shape and fullness of her lips were remarkably human. The only truly alien part about them was the color: a deeper lavender rather than a shade of red.

"Wow…" Shepard whispered unconsciously. His stare was unwavering as he took in every detail of Tali's unmistakably human-like features. _It had been so long... I'd forgotten..._

Tali was getting worried by Shepard's look. She couldn't tell if he was excited by her appearance or not. She put her hand on his thigh and tried to get his attention. "Shepard," she said nervously. "is everything alright?" She had trouble understanding human facial expressions sometimes and the fact that she was so nervous didn't help.

Shepard snapped out of his zone and smiled at Tali. "Everything is fine. It's just… I'd forgotten how beautiful you are." He replied. He reached up with one hand and gently stroked her face.

Tali's smile returned and she grabbed his hand and removed it from her face. Trying her best to be sexy, Tali shook her head slowly and made a tsking noice. She reached behind what was left of her helmet and pressed a few more buttons, releasing the seal. Tali pulled off the rest of the helmet and dropped it on the floor with her faceplate.

Tali was enjoying the feeling of freedom she was experiencing. All her life, she lived inside a small bubble, alone and cut off from the galaxy. Now, she was free and could smell the faint aroma of the spacious cabin with her own nose instead of air filters. She was full of passion and excitement. Tali threw her arms around Shepard, surprising him a great deal, and dragged him down with her on the bed. When they were both lying down, Tali planted a passionate kiss on his waiting lips. She felt a strange sensation running through her body: a warm, tingling feeling. Unwillingly, she pulled away from the embrace to take a breath. "Oh, Keelah…" she gasped, opening her luminescent eyes slowly to gaze upon Shepard.

Shepard had a smile running across his lips. He brought his hand up and ran it through Tali's hair. As he moved around the fin, he gently ran his fingers along the edge, sending a shiver through Tali's body. This time it was his turn. Shepard pulled Tali in gently and brought his lips to hers. Softly, he bit her lower lip and pushed against her more. Tali pushed back and succeeded in rolling them over so she was on top. Realizing she had the upper hand, Tali pinned Shepard against the bed, an aggressive look joining her wild smile. After a few half-hearted attempts to gain control, Shepard relaxed.

Slowly and deliberately, Tali undid the pins inside the fold of the long-sleeved Cerberus shirt. Her eyes never left Shepard's. Coyly, Tali said, "I hope you have more fight in you than that, Commander." Barely a moment passed before Shepard's shirt was off him, revealing his muscular chest. With an almost rabbit's-fur softness, Tali ran her lithe fingers down Shepard exposed chest. When she got down to his navel, Tali backed away from the bed and stood about two meters away from its foot. She turned around, her eyes leaving Shepard last, and pressed more connections along her suit. With a mellow hissing, the suit split down the sides and fell back to uncover Tali's dancer-like body. Tali twisted her head back to Shepard, some of her shimmering hair flying over her shoulder while the rest settled on her nude back, and winked. "What do you think?" She asked sultrily.

Shepard stood and brought his arms around Tali. In response to her, he said, "I've never seen anything more beautiful." Tenderly, Shepard kissed Tali on her cheek and hugged her youthful body tighter.

The exposed quarian woman turned around in Shepard's arms and kissed him back. With surprising agility, She wormed herself away from his grasp and flopped onto the bed on her back. Seductively, she bit her lip and beckoned him over with one finger. "Ready for more?"

Shepard cocked an eyebrow and drew his mouth into a wide smile. "I think I can handle it." He popped the buckle on his trousers and let them fall. He approached the bed slowly, keeping his eyes on Tali's half naked body.

Tali looked at Shepard in concealed wonder. His body, now fully exposed, wasn't done justice by the clothes he wore. His sinewy arms and chest and powerful legs were tight with anticipation. She felt a stirring inside her, something she had never felt before. In one quick motion, she was able to release the connections on the rest of her suit; the bottom half of her environmental suit became limp so she could slide it off. A few quick kicks jolted the rest of the suit off of her pristine, mauve legs.

Now it was Shepard's turn to be amazed. Tali's beautiful body had a gleam to it in the dimmed light of the cabin. Her smooth skin, wide hips, and pouty lips drew him in. Cat-like, Shepard stalked his way across the bed, grinning lustfully. Lying beside Tali, he caressed her and brought their stripped bodies close together. "Are you sure you still want to do this?" Shepard asked.

Tali stroked Shepard's cheek and smiled with controlled glee. "Of course. I've wanted this for a long time."

Another passionate kiss sealed them and the night was theirs.


	5. Out of the Hornet's Nest

**Chapter Five: Out of the Hornet's Nest**

Shepard and his team flew through the maze of corridors and passages to destroy the Collector Base. Garrus headed the second team through the corridors, pushing them to make it to the doors and assist Shepard. Legion was instrumental in closing the doors to stem the tide of Collectors. Luckily, Shepard and his group were quick enough to save the rest of the crew of the Normandy. Mordin at the their side, the crew made it back to the Normandy safely. Finally making it to the central chamber, Shepard assaulted the human Reaper with Tali and Garrus at his side. Eliminating the Reaper, the group high-tailed to the Normandy. Tali and Garrus were able to hop into the airlock without trouble; however, Shepard had to leap to make it to the Normandy. He barely made it, gaining a hold on the edge of the Normandy. Tali pulled him up and pressed the panel to close the door. Ten seconds later, the Collector Base exploded into millions of tiny pieces.

**Captain's Cabin**

Shepard lay on his bed, quietly staring at the decimated ceiling. The hull had been shorn off revealing the cold emptiness of space. Luckily, the shield had held and kept enough atmosphere in to allow the repair crews to rebuild from the inside.

"I hate watching them jerry rig such a beautiful ship." A voice from the other side of the room called out. Shepard knew right away who it was.

"Don't worry, Joker; we'll put into the Citadel for some real repairs." Shepard replied.

Joker stepped from the doorway and limped his way to the bed. "We'll have to move quickly: these 'repairs' won't last long in space, especially not if we run into anyone."

Shepard stayed silent. He was nearly mesmerized by the void of space; he now knew why Samara spent so much time watching the stars. Joker focused on the Commander and decided it would be better to leave him alone with his thoughts.

"Dr. Chakwas says that Tali's doing better." Joker said quietly. "Mordin's down there too. He says that Tali should be just fine." Somehow, telling Shepard all of this didn't seem to be enough. He wanted to say more; he didn't like seeing his friend so depressed. But, without another word, Joker stood and limped from the room.

Shepard didn't seem to notice Joker leaving: he was too busy thinking about everything that went wrong during the mission:

The crew made it back safely, but Mordin was hit in the stomach and bed-ridden for a week, not that it stopped him from helping out around the ship: more than once he'd been caught checking on the patients in triage.

Thane's leg was shattered during the escape from the base when a Collector jumped him. He managed to fight it off, but he had to be dragged back to the Normandy.

Samara wasn't injured, but she was exhausted from generating the biotic field she used to stave off the bugs used by the Collectors. Her meditation seemed closer to a coma than anything.

Jack was hit in the head by a falling piece of debris and was still unconscious in triage.

Tali was hit by a lucky shot from one of the Collectors just before the airlock closed. Her suit ruptured violently, and she was rushed to the med-bay. Luckily, she got there just in time to save her life; however, it is unknown how long her recovery will take.

There were various other injuries, most minor, but it was a success… over all.

"Sometimes I wonder if it was all worth it."

"What's that, sir?" a nearby crewman asked.

Shepard snapped out of his daze and realized that he was in the galley, which had been turned into a triage since Tali had to be quarantined. "What? Oh, nothing." He responded quickly. He stood before the door to the med-bay as if about to enter. As tempting as it was, he decided it would be safer for Tali to be exposed to as few germs as possible. Just as he was about to go back up to the CIC to check the progress of repairs, Dr. Chakwas came out of the med-bay followed by a lack of scent, like an old, undisturbed attic.

She removed an archaic face mask and took a deep breath. "You never get used to the smell of complete sterility."

Shepard nodded and continued to stare at the door. "How is she?" He asked quietly.

Dr. Chakwas sighed sadly. "The infection is bad, really bad. Mordin is working on something to help, but if it doesn't…" She trailed off, not wanting to tell the Commander.

He didn't need her to say it. "Do your best." He walked away from the door and around the corner to the elevator. Without much thought, he retreated to the heart of the ship.

Dr. Chakwas stood alone for a moment, watching Shepard disappear. She replaced her face mask and re-entered the sterile environment of the medical bay.

**Engineering**

Shepard leaned on the rail, staring up at the glowing core; his gaze so focused that he didn't notice the other person coming up beside him.

"It's quite beautiful, isn't it?" Garrus' voice creaked out. He was just behind Shepard, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Yeah." Shepard said, his voice almost a whisper.

The turian leaned in next to his friend, mimicking Shepard's position. "If Tali were here, she'd probably start going on about mass effect fields or some other engineering lingo." He chuckled quietly.

Shepard nodded, though it was obvious he wasn't really paying attention.

Garrus looked over at Shepard, his mouth drooping into a turian frown. "You know she'll make it." He stated. "There's no way she'll let you off for nearly dying." He stood so that he supported himself on the rail by his hands." Besides, she won't leave you alone to find someone else."

At that, Shepard responded with a strangled laugh. "We better fix this place up then." He said, motioning to the heavily damaged but surprisingly stable core room with his head. "If she sees this, we'll be worse off than she is."

Garrus agreed with a smile and started away from the core. At the doorway, he stopped and glanced back. "She'll make it, Shepard. She has to."

"I know."

With that, Garrus left Shepard to his quiet contemplation.

**CIC, Tech Lab**

Legion walked briskly into the lab, startling the highly focused Mordin. "You requested our presence, doctor." If it wasn't a geth, Mordin might have detected annoyance in that statement.

"Indeed." The salarian doctor returned to his work. "Tali'Zorah was badly physiology interesting: difficult to treat an advanced assistance is required." Mordin quickly retrieved a datapad and handed it to Legion.

His head plates jolted up but settled back down. "Creator Tali'Zorah would not approve of our assistance." The geth was carefully examining the data. She would eventually recover, but she would be lucky if she retained anything near her current health and ability.

"She is in no position to argue." Mordin said matter-of-factly.

Legion 'furrowed' his head plates. It was another moment before he continued. "What do you wish us to do?"

Mordin nodded and beckoned the geth over to a panel. On it were various mutagenic strains of a strange mix of viruses. "Her body is adapting to the infection; however, as soon as she adapts, it mutates. Fascinating really." He worked intently, going through a dozen of traced mutations. Each one was twice as complex as the first.

Legion watched intently. "The virus is human in origin. There is a pattern to the virus's resequencing and growth." The geth observed.

Mordin shook his head. "Not origin. Contributor." The section of genetic code was brought up close. "The human strain is assisting mutation rate." He scratched his neck. "Infection could be eliminated if human strain is purged. But the risk of retrovirus damaging her more is great."

Legion said what Mordin had been thinking but avoiding if at all possible: "There is no other option."

**CIC, Cockpit**

"Joker, how much longer?" Shepard asked in annoyance. He was tired of being on a ship held together with gum and spit.

"We'll be at the Citadel tomorrow morning, Commander." Joker replied. He was tense himself: it was all he could do to keep the ship together.

"I want to be there today, Flight Lieutenant."

"We're barely staying together as it is. If I push her any harder..." He trailed off, glancing at the platform that held EDI's virtual form. "I don't have to tell you what floating through space feels like."

Shepard tensed behind Joker's chair. He was right, but bringing it up only brought back memories of Tali. How sad she must have been.

Joker felt this and tried to recover. "I'm sorry, Commander. I shouldn't have said that." The pilot spoke nervously. He had felt Shepard tense up.

"No, Jeff. You're right. I shouldn't be blaming you. Keep up the good work." He put a hand on his friend's shoulder before heading off. He needed to put something else on his mind.

**Crew Deck, Forward Battery**

Garrus stood there, examining the wreckage of the room. Grunt was digging through fallen panels aand broken beams searching for the concole to the main array. Upon finding it, he dug faster only to find that it had been smashed beyond repair.

"Guess we'll have to fight hand-to-hand." Grunt chuckled.

"You first." Garrus responded dryly. He joined Grunt in retrieving the pieces of scrap and threw them all in a large pile. Whatever else Cerberus was, they had some great tech.

"I heard the forward battery had been cleared. How's the situation?" Shepard had entered the room without alerting the other two. He was rubbing a spot on the back of his head from where he smacked against the half-open door. Once he looked around, he didn't need an answer.

"Grunt volunteered to go out the airlock first if there's a fight." Garrus said, playfully tossing a look to the krogan warrior.

Grunt snarled but otherwise didn't respond, instead continuing to sift the rubble.

Shepard watched idly as they pulled out the last piece of the terminal. The three looked at the heap of tech with little hope of salvaging it.

"Something on your mind, Shepard?" Garrus asked. He was concerned for his friend: in the last three days, Shepard had only eaten one meal and slept no more than six hours. He was running on fumes himself, but Shepard had more to worry about than shifting debris.

"Talk to her." Grunt interjected in the silence. He got looks from both of the other men, but he merely shrugged and went back to picking out pieces of rubble.

Garrus tried to keep a stern look on his face at the krogan but in the end, he agreed. "You should, Shepard. She's not awake, but it's safe to at least go see her." Garrus put a hand on the commander's shoulder, trying to comfort him. "We're all worried about her."

Shepard looked into the eyes of the turian he had come to know better than a brother. He didn't say a word as he left. He didn't need to. Garrus knew what he would say and that was enough.

Grunt made a noise that resembled a scoff. "Love is a weak emotion."

Garrus turned back to the krogan. "You'd be surprised what love can do." He resumed picking important pieces out of the pile of junk that used to be the Thanix Cannon. "Besides, Shepard is the happiest I've ever seen him."

Grunt snorted again. This time, there was no question what it was. "That doesn't look happy to me. Maybe we should have kept a Collector pet for him to beat on." The krogan let out a hearty laugh, but stopped at the look Garrus shot him. He turned his back and shifted through the rubble more. "Damn turian." He whispered.

**Med Bay**

The door opened with a click and thud, causing the three around Tali to jump and look at the intruder. Dr. Chakwas looked about ready to jump the fool who had walked in without a thought. When she saw that it was Shepard, she thought better of it and just nodded.

Shepard's mouth was covered by a mask and his uniform was damp from a spray that served as a temporary decon procedure. He itched at the short sleeve as he tried to adjust the top comfortably.

"Shepard-Commander," Legion droned. "we are pleased to see you are well." The plates on its head lifted, giving the impression of a smile.

Mordin nodded. "Indeed. Fought well. Saved many. I knew you were a hero." He had his fists up like a boxer.

Shepard let himself smile a bit seeing the normally serious doctor this way. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to talk recently. Hopefully, after all this is over..." His voice trailed off once his eyes went back to Tali's body, her breaths looking struggled and shallow. "How is she?"

Chakwas sighed. "She's not doing any worse, but she's not doing any better either." She paused, trying to find the words.

Legion saved her from having to continue. "We have a way to cure her." It stated. Shepard perked up at that and was about to ask why they haven't done it already, but Mordin chimed in.

"Infection is mutating to quickly. Can't fight it off. Desperate measures must be taken." He held up a small vial of greenish liquid. "This eliminates the human strains inside her. Will hopefully cease viral mutation long enough for her to fight back."

Shepard looked back at Tali, his eyes full of guilt. This was all his fault. If he had been smarter, turned her down before such a dangerous mission. He could have had more nights with her. Why did he have to steal that one?

A cough from Mordin brought him from his sunken thoughts. Legion explained more. "Side effects from the retrovirus could to deadly to Creator Tali'Zorah. It is unknown if she would pull through in this condition. The plates on Legion in such a way as to make him look almost worried.

Shepard grabbed the unconscious Tali's hand and squeezed it gently. "Is there any other way?" His voice was commendably level. The last thing anyone needed was him angry. Or scared. The silence from the three around him was all the answer he needed. "Do it." He said.

Mordin inserted the vial into a waiting IV and watching as the liquid mixed slowly drained into her system. Shepard pulled up a nearby chair and sat beside the bed, holding tightly to Tali's limp hand. The others left as Shepard watched his love's stomach rise and fall with every breath.

**CIC, Cockpit**

"Mr. Moreau, that is not something I am willing to do." EDI's voice chimed.

"I was just joking anyway." He groaned, evidently this argument had been going on for awhile He adjusted his cap and decided it was time to change his tactics.

"It would limit my current functionality." She paused, waiting for an answer. None came. "Mr. Moreau? Mr. Moreau! Jeff!"When she still didn't get an answer, she stayed silent, Joker giving a satisfied smirk.

Garrus strode up behind the pilot's seat and looked at the two of them for a moment before speaking. "Lover's quarrel?"

Neither of them said anything, hinting that it would be best to change the subject. "So what's the situation?" He asked. The restlessness was killing him. Any longer on this ship and he might just pick a fight with Jack just for something to do.

Joker rubbed the back of his neck, reluctant to answer. "We'll be at the Citadel in a few hours, but..." He took a deep breath. "We'll be escorted by Council ships."

Garrus gave him a curious look.

This was the part he didn't want to say. "Commander Shepard is charged with treason."

The turian's jaw dropped.

"Treason!?" Garrus yelled. He couldn't believe the Council would be so foolish. After all Shepard has done for them, for everyone! He ordered the Alliance fleet to save them. Risked his life to destroy the Collector base. Now this!

Joker nodded grimly. "Apparently, Cerberus fleets and troops have raided Council space while we've been limping home." He removed his cap, revealing a balding, trimmed head. "We don't have the power to fight them off in this condition." He turned the Cerberus cap over in his hands, looking at the insignia. Suddenly, he whipped it across the cockpit. "God dammit!"

"Joker..." EDI chimed softly.

Garrus just stood there, dumbstruck. It was more than a surprise, it was more than a crime. But what could he do? "I'll... I'll tell him." He finally said, making the walk back to the elevator go as slowly as possible.


	6. Upon a Gothic Perch

**Chapter Six: Upon a Gothic Perch**

_ "I love you."_

_ "I love you too, Shepard. I love you more than anything."_

_ Shepard's smile stretched from ear to ear. "Everytime I hear you say that..." He kissed her hand, pulling Tali closer to him._

_ She gladly accepted, nuzzling her face into his exposed neck. Her hair tickled his nose, but he didn't mind. All he wanted was to be closer to her._

_ "So," Shepard said, stroking her back. "What should we name him?" He shifted to get a better look at Tali's enlarged abdomen and ran a hand over it, illiciting a giggle from her._

_ "We have months before we have to decide that. But I was thinking maybe John'Shepard nar Rannoch." She smiled and kissed him softly. "Junior."_

_ Shepard couldn't contain his own chuckles. "That would be a very interesting name. My mother would be happy that I had a kid, but she always hated 'junior.'" He brushed the locks of hair out of her face, gazing deep into her glowing eyes. "But whatever makes you happy, my love."_

_ Tali smiled back at him. "Shepard..."_

"Shepard? Are you awake? Commander!"

He jolted awake. "Tali... Rannoch... kid...What?" He muttered, looking around for the voice. Finally, he found Dr. Chakwas' face looking down at him.

"Good morning, Commander. Have a nice, ahem, nap?" She asked nodding at the large puddle his face had been resting in. It was all she could do to supress the smile his confused look tempted her with. "That must have been some dream. I hate to tell you though, the chances of a quarian-human hybrid are slim." The doctor gave Shepard a friendly pat on the shoulder as she walked back to her desk.

It was then that he heard a faint giggling coming from the bed. At the head of the bed was a beautiful face with glowing eyes, full lips, and framed by long locks of wavy onyx hair.

"Hey, you." Tali whispered, a weak smile gracing her lips. Her skin had regained its purple hue and her eyes shone like the sun. But her voice told that she was still not up to her full strength.

"Hey." Shepard's smile was anything but weak. It hurt to stretch his lips so wide, but he didn't care. It was impossible to help. There was so much to say, so much to tell, but all of it seemed to drift past. A simple hey was enough for now.

A cough alerted the lovers that they weren't alone in the room. "If you'd like to know, I have some good news for you." Chakwas was still at her desk, holding the coffee before and sipping lighty. "The retrovirus was far more powerful than we thought. Turns out that it's buffing her immune system."

Shepard and Tali's eyes went wide. That might mean she won't need a suit anymore! But the doctor knew what they were thinking and hurried to explain.

"That doesn't mean she's free from her suit." The eyes from the two closed more. "But it does mean that it'll be easier for her to get used to you. Perhaps in a few years, it might even be possible to adapt the virus to all quarians. A little tweaking and we have a cure for the common cold, so to speak."

That wasn't nearly as good as they had originally hoped, but at least it was something. He smiled and kissed her hand as he stood. "I expect to see you out of that rack soon, soldier." He said in his booming command voice. "We can't use laggards on this ship."

Anyone else would have thought it was a serious order, but the twitch on the sides of his mouth alerted Tali to the joke. She still played along. "Yes, sir Commander, sir." She gave a half salute.

Shepard nodded, turned, and left the med bay with all the seriousness he could manage in his stride.

The women watched as he left, holding their laughter in until the door was closed and sealed.

"He loves you very much." Chakwas said as the light laughing died down.

"I know." Tali said happily. She couldn't let go of her smile. Even with all the other important stuff he had to do, Shepard had stayed beside her and watched over her. "I know." she repeated.

**CIC, Briefing room**

"They what!" Shepard shouted, banging his fist on the table and aggravating his still-healing wounds. He couldn't believe the Council would have the nerve to try something like this. "Those ungrateful little..." He growled.

Garrus stood opposite Shepard, arms over his chest and armor glinting in the light. "We're all behind you. If you want to fight, we'll give it everything we've got." His turian smile was calming.

"Grunt DID offer to go out the airlock." Shepard said, illiciting a chuckle from his friend. The commander moved to lay a hand on Garrus' shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll find you when I get out. You still owe me a drink."

The turian scoffed quietly to himself. "You don't think every damn one of us will jump on anyone who touches you?" He mirrored Shepard's gesture.

Shepard gave a nod, even allowing himself a slight smile. "And anyone who does will be taken with me."

"Commander," Joker's voice piped in. "we're being flanked by two turian dreadnoughts." He was obviously nervous. "Looks like they really mean business."

"Two dreadnoughts against a barely stable frigate." Shepard murmured. It was an amusing thought.

Garrus said what he thought. "I guess they're scared of you, Shepard." The turian released Shepard and headed to the door, stopping for a moment in the way. "Anyone who comes for you will leave broken."

"Ten minutes." Joker's voice rang out over the comm.

Shepard shook his head. "Ten minutes before I'm handed over to C-Sec on charges of treason." He sighed heavily, running a hand over his cropped hair. "I need a vacation."

**CIC**

It was barely thirty seconds that the Normandy, what was left of it, was docked and a party of five, in full battle gear, came aboard. As soon as tey entered, they could feel the glares cast upon them. At the far end of the room, Shepard stood, wearing his Cerberus vest and shorts. Surrounding the hero was the rest of his team, every one of them a killing machine unafraid to protect their beloved commander. As the group entered, Joker stood first, followed by everyone lining the corridor of the vessel, not one of them looking the least bit pleased.

The soldiers started a slow walk toward Shepard, avoiding the terrible gazes of the Cerberus crew. The team moved now to flank the commander, moving not as individuals but as one person. Garrus was immediately beside Shepard, a weak Tali was on the commander's other side, using him for support.

The four opposing soldiers stopped halfway when the lead officer raised his hand. All eyes were on the man as he removed his helmet.

"Commander." He said, his voice low and a displeasurable taste in his mouth. He nervously fondled the helmet now tucked under one arm.

"Kaidan." Shepard responded cooly, his blue eyes drilling into Kaidan's. "How have you been?"

He shook his head. "Fine... until now." Kaidan looked into the face of his former friend. "I hope we can keep this as professional as possible."

Shepard's eyes narrowed, looking deadly as the ace they belonged to. "I'm surprised you aren't happier about this detail, Major. You made your thoughts about me clear." The cold in his voice could have frozen a supernova.

Kaidan's nerves were beginning to get the better of him. He had almost forgetten just how scary the man he was dealing with could be. The thought of wrestling a feral varren sounded better than this. "You're still a superior officer and a man who saved my life more than once." He cleared his throat to buy time. "Please come along peacefully."

Ten guns were all pointed at the major's head in a second. The small marine force had no idea what to do, pointing their assault rifles at whatever targets they could find.

"Put them away." Shepard's even voice bellowed.

Everyone, even the marines, lowered their weapons. Jack snarled and spit at one of the closer ones, eager for bloodshed. Even Grunt obeyed, but he made sure the marines got a good look at the angry krogan beforehand.

"My ship," he said, glancing around at everyone. "what's left of it, will not become the scene of a bloodbath."

"Not a bloodbath." came the deep sound of Thane's cracking voice. "An assassination." The fear that crept into the stance of highly trained soldiers was satisfying, but it wouldn't help.

"Stand down, Krios." Shepard stepped forward, now mere inches from Kaidan and looking straight into his old friends eyes. The drell nodded and stepped back but never took his eyes off the marines.

Kaidan stepped aside to let the commander through, but his place was quickly taken.

"If you want him, then you have to take me." Tali was standing in front of Shepard. Her sinister tone accented by luminous eyes and a tinted faceplate.

Kaidan nervously looked to Garrus. The turian nodded, signifying that if Kaidan took Shepard, either he'd die or every last one of the crew would be in shackles. Not a tempting prospect. But Shepard stopped them.

"No. I'm charged, and I'll go willingly."

Tali's weak figure whipped around with surprising speed. Her eyes looked into his and one could easily see the feeling of betrayal. One arm was wrapped tightly around his waist, the other resting on his chest. "You can't leave me again." Her voice was too soft for anyone but Shepard to hear.

The commander put a hand to her faceplate and stroked where her cheek would be. "I'll be fine." he cooed. "When this is settled, I'll make sure there is time for us. Okay?"

Tali felt crying, but through her tears, she could see the slight curve that made up his smile and hear the sincerity in his voice. She knew he meant it, but how long would she have to wait? "Okay." She said. "But you owe me more than just a night of two." She choked out a soft laugh.

Shepard knew how upset she was, but this was something that had to be done. He pulled her in close, moving a hand up to caress her head. She practically melted into him, what little strength she had gone. To his credit, Kaidan gave them a little time.

But that had to end all too soon for either of them. "Please, it's time to go." the major said, doing his best to keep his voice calm and collect.

Tali refused to release Shepard until a hand from Garrus pulled her away. Even then, Shepard still had to pry himself unhappyily away. Leaning heavily on Garrus, Tali watched as the commander was led away by the traitor and his rentinue. "Bosh'tet." she whispered.

When the airlock finally closed, a pistol flew through the air, clanking against the wall beside it. "Fuck!" yelled Jack, drawing everyone's attention. "Bastards!" She punched a nearby wall in her anger, sending an unsettling creaking throughout the ship. Everyone locked still, waiting for the creaking to settle.

"You read my mind." Garrus hissed, eyes still set on the airlock.

**Presidium Tower**

"Bosh'tet!" Tali shouted. She was about ready to leap out and strangle the councilors. The rest of the team waited around her, making sure she didn't do just that.

The asari councilor kept her cool, even though anyone could tell it was difficult. "Miss Tali'Zorah, please control your outbursts. We do expect some decorum." She waited a moment for the angry quarian to relax a little before continuing. "We cannot grant your request."

"You know very well that Commander Shepard has nothing to do with Cerberus anymore." Garrus stated, stepping in front of Tali's clear path to the councilor's throat.

"Mr. Vakarian," the turian councilor took over. "we have attempted to look through the Normandy's files and Shepard's logs." His voice grew annoyed and hard. "But the VI has been less than cooperative."

"Sounds like EDI." Joker grimaced, still leaning on the railiing for support.

"You aren't looking very hard." Thane met the eyes of the antagonistic turian councilor, who tried to hold the gaze. The eyes of the drell assassin were more than unnerving though. "Shepard is a hero. You know he would never betray anyone." The venom in his voice was obvious to everyone.

"What we believe is irrelevant." the salarian councilor chimed in.

The eyes of Thane switched targets, boring into the salarian now. IT was like seeing a bird-of-prey chase its meal. This bird was hungry.

The councilor continued, avoiding Thane's eyes. "What matters is the evidence. So far, we've found nothing to tell us he's innocent."

"Then accept the word of a Justicar; Shepard is innocent." Samara walked center-stage to get a good look at the asari before her.

The asari's face turned dour. "While your word carries much weight, I'm afraid it's not enough." The two asari locked eyes as if in a mental battle.

Anderson, who had stayed silent until now, finally spoke up and broke the asari's mental war. "This is ridiculous. Shepard has been through enough. Let the man have some peace for awhile."

"Your reservations have been noted Council Anderson." The turian said hastily, shooting the human an ugly glare. Anderson huffed and turned away, knowing his opinion would have little impact in this matter.

"In any case," the turian continued, moving his eyes to the group before him. "this matter has been decided. If evidence of the Commander's resignation is found, he'll be released." He waved the team off with a dismissive hand.

Tali was ready to knock him on his turian ass, but a hand from Samara told her to let this one go. Angrily, she stopped away, followed slowly by Garrus and the others. Thane left last, making sure every one of the councilors got a good look at him.

**Citadel, Chozaka's Den**

Garrus sat alone at a table in the back of the bar, happy to finally have gotten a rest. A green liquid bubbled in a tall, thin canister. He silently eyed it as if waiting for it to speak. Scratching at his scar, the turian found it hard to remember the old days with Shepard, before the death of Saren. :It was long ago." he muttered quietly. The other seven canisters lying on the table were all empty and spread haphazardly of its surface. "At least in the old days, I'd have a drinking partner." he sighed.

"Is that what's on your mind, Garrus? I thought you'd be better than that." A voice that sounded like Shepard's called out.

Garrus' eyes went wide and his jaw open, but a quick scan revealed that there was no Shepard. He held up the still full canister and examined it closely. "I guess I've had one too many of these." He chuckled.

"You're damn right." This time there was no question: Shepard was right in front of him wearing the vest and shorts he wore so often. His booted feet rested on the table, his hands behind his head, and his face wearing a smile. "God, Garrus, you get uglier every day."

Garrus smiled right back. "You're not so great off yourself. At least I can get the women."

Shepard shrugged. "Take 'em. I have Tali." His face was suddenly sad. "How is she?"

"She'll be fine." Garrus lied. "Though she'll break you out with her bare hands." Garrus sighed. "She loves you, Shepard. I wish I could remember what that felt like." After a moment of silence, the turian burst into laughter, causing the other patrons to whip around to look at him. "But you aren't really here, are you?" Garrus laughed partly because of his drunkeness and partly because he lied to a hallucination.

The Shepard hallucination shrugged and smiled, nodding at the empty canisters on the table. "Told you those things would drive you crazy."

Garrus held up his full one to the dim lighting and looked at it for a moment. "Here's to lunacy then." All of the liquid was gone in a single gulp.

"The old Garrus wouldn't be drinking his troubles away in this hole while his friend was in jail." The voice that came from Shepard was harsh despite the smile still painted on his face.

The turian looked to the floor and closed his eyes. "Shepard, I-" He was alone when he looked up. Everyone else was still there dancing and drinking, but Shepard was gone. "Dammit!" He stood quickly, nearing knocking his chair over. Some salarians in a corner conversed hastily, alternatively looking over to the drunk turian. Garrus hurried out of the bar, knocking over some of the other patrons and muttering curses under his breath.

**Citadel, Presidium Tower**

"We can't hold him here without any evidence. The Council has no right to punish him!" Anderson pounded his fist on the table, startling the other councilors with the sudden action.

"We know he is a member of Cerberus. They have been hitting our space at all our most valuable supply lines. Who else but Shepard do we know that has access to Council files and works for Cerberus?" The turian's voice was grating on the old soldier, but he couldn't deny the logic. Still...

"I don't believe Shepard would betray the Council like that. It's not like him." Anderson settled down in his chair, thinking hard about the man who was his protégé and friend. Hell, Shepard was almost like a son to him.

The voice of the asari broke his reverie. "Even if we truly believe Shepard's innocence, the rest of the galaxy will only see him as Cerberus." Her voice was low and sorrowful. "I still remember him giving the order to save us, sacrificing many of his own people. But we need to keep the peace. I'm truly sorry." She reached out a hand toward Anderson, who kept himself distant.

"It's not right." Anderson said, his hand running over his prickly chin. "It's just not right." He let out a heavy sigh. A sigh that mirrored his years as a soldier. The group was silent. Many moments passed without movement or word. The three waited on Anderson. Finally, softly, he spoke. "He should be turned over to the Alliance after this matter is dealt with."

The other three looked at eachother and nodded. The salarian spoke first. "That can be arranged... and it should qwell the unrest." One moment passed without a word. "Anderson, you should not be present for our deliberations on Shepard's punishment."

The human nodded and stood out of his chair. Every step was heavier than the last. _All that work gone. Everything that Shepard did, pushed aside in the name of unity. It's not right._

**Citadel, C-Sec**

"What the hell do you mean hanl'd?" The turian roared. The poor man hadn't come in to work today assuming to deal with a veteran turian soldier. A pissed off and drunk one at that. "Get me Shepard now, you insolent little human!"

The officer nearly fell out of his chair running to get the officer in charge. IT was an amusing sight watching a rather sizable man run at the order of a drunken turian that had barely been able to keep himself straight enough to talk, let alone fight. "Hehehe, run little man." the turian chuckled.

"God, you look awful." A deep, friendly voice said, causing said turian to whip around angrily.

"You little piece a- Shepard! I jus' told that little punk to go get you." He gestured behind his back toward the long hallway. "You better get there quick so 'e can bring you back."

"I see you didn't need a partner to get drunk off your ass, Garrus. Remember that night after we killed Saren?" The image of Shepard dropped into a nearby chair and looked out the doorway thoughtfully.

Garrus fell into the next chair over ungracefully, making it more of a controlled crash. "Nah really. I remember the next morning all too well though." He laughed uproarously, drawing the attention of a few passersby. "I 'member waking up in your cabin with my face buried in the foot of your bed, you spread-ea'le on the floor, and Tali draped over you like a blanket." He laughed again, causing people to stop this time and watch the proceedings.

"That was a good night." The Shepard hallucination said, rubbing the back of his neck. "None of us knew what happened until Kaidan finally explained it. That was the first night I ever told Tali I wanted to be with her." He chuckled at that. "At least, I drunkenly told her I was 'gonna curb-stomp the geth until they stop pickin on you'." The Shepard hallucination looked at Garrus now, a smile evident on his face.

Garrus stared stupidly at him, too drunk to even realize it wasn't really Shepard. "Yeah, an' you asked for my help. We marched out of the bar and radioed Joker to take us to Rannoch to wipe out the geth." Garrus was barely able to hold in his laughter until the end of the sentence. Now, he was a main attraction with crowds gathering around to watch his drunken ramblings.

"Yeah. Those were good times. What happened to those?" Shepard's face was very serious now, sad even.

Even in his drunken stupour, Garrus noticed and got equally serious. "You mean you don't know? You died. No one knew wha' dah do."

"I left her, Garrus. Tali was looking forward to starting a life with me and I left her." Shepard's face was contorted with anger. "She was finally doing something for herself and I left her!" His rage-filled face turned to Garrus, the red implants in his eyes alight and scars shining. There were tears in his eyes. "I loved her, Garrus. I loved her and I never told her." The rage simmered down, and his eyes returned to their normal cool blue color. "Remind Shepard who loves him. And who he loves." The hallucination nodded down the hall, toward the approaching guards.

Garrus followed his look and saw the three men that now beared down on him. "But you're alre-" The apparition was gone and the turian sat alone. It was now, in this sober moment, that he noticed to amused crowds gather ing around, eyes on him. Now was a great reminder of why the impossiblity of blushing is a good thing.

"Mr. Vakarian," the lead C-Sec officer stated cautiously.

Garrus looked at the man and remembered how foolish he had acted. "Yeah. I'm sorry for being so aggressive. It's been a rough night."

The officer noticably relaxed and stood straighter. "Thank you. If you'll come this way." He motioned down the hallway, falling closely in line behind the turian.

A click alerted the waiting Shepard. "Shepard, John. Commander. Alliance Navy. You have a visitor." There was another click and the door opened to reveal a turian followed by three humans. Shepard recognized the turian almost instantly.

"Garrus!" He embraced his old friend tightly. "What brings you here?"

"You have ten minutes, Mr. Vakarian." One of the guards said. He quickly shot a look at the commander and stepped a salute. "I wish I could do more for you commander. Some of us still believe in you."

Shepard tapped out a quick salute to the men, turning back to his friend when they had left.

"I came to see you." Garrus said. There was something important he had to tell Shepard, but for the life of him he couldn't remember. Something about Tali. "I wanted to make sure they were treating you like the criminal you are."

Shepard smiled at the improper joke, if only because it was his best friend saying it. "A little better, actually. I'm able to have guests, and they aren't too strict on who." Shepard's face quickly turned sour though. "How's everyone holding up?"

His turian friend was never able to fool Shepard. As much as Garrus wanted to say all was well, that was far from the truth. "It's rough, John." Garrus had lost all humor from his voice. And it was rare enough for him to use Shepard's first name. Something big was up. "It was hard enough to keep everyone on enough of a leash to avoid killing the Council, but now that you're stuck in here without even a sentence yet..."

Shepard was angry enough to knock the door down, but all he managed was a sigh. "Damn. I was afraid of that." He sat on an old chair the officers had placed in his room and held his head. _Now what?_

"And Tali..." Garrus started. He had no idea how to finish what he was going to say. It didn't help that the commander had jumped up so suddenly at the mere mention of her name. _There was something I was supposed to tell him about her. What was it? It was important._

"What about Tali?" Shepard was right in his friends face now. Any other man would have retreated in fright from the large soldier that now beared down on Garrus. "What about her?" He said again slowly, angrily.

"She's not doing so well. She's spent the last day in your cabin crying. Some C-Sec officers tried to remove her, but they ended up running away from what they described as a devil. No one's gone up to your cabin since." Garrus looked down at the ground. He already knew the feelings welling up inside his friend. All the turian could do was be there for him.

But the reaction was surprising. "Tell her to leave." Shepard said coldly.

Disbelief covered Garrus' face. Even a novice could see that in the turian's unreadable visage. "Tell her to leave? John, have you gone mad! Why would you do that?" It was Garrus' turn to be in his face. Shepard only looked away.

"It's time she found someone who could be there for her. She deserves a little happiness now." The sorrow was dripping like rain from his voice. A voice that was equally commanding and gentle now hung like fog.

But Garrus was furious. Never had Shepard thought of hurting Tali. Never had he thought of doing something this... this... cruel! "You arrogant, stupid, cynical man!" Garrus shouted. He held back the punch to the face Shepard rightly deserved. "How dare you say something like that! I'm not a rookie fresh from the fight, I'm your friend, dammit! I refuse to let you give up on her like that!"

Shepard didn't even move. A single tear sped down his stubbled cheek. "It's too late for us. We've tried twice and both times it's failed."

There was no holding back now. Left hook right to the jaw and Shepard was on the ground holding his face. A look up at Garrus gave all the information he needed. "If I hear you say that one more time, I'll shoot you before she ever gets a chance." The turian stormed to the doorway and pressed a small contact beside it. Within a moment, the door was open and the same human stood outside that had brought Garrus.

"She loves you, Shepard." Garrus said solemnly. "More than she'll admit. And you love her too." He was facing the still seated commander. "I won't tell her what you've said here." The turian left without another word, leaving Shepard alone again.

"Thanks." He said under his breath.


	7. What You Leave Behind

**Chapter 7: What You Leave Behind**

"Shepard, you are stripped of your title of Spectre and hereby put under Alliance custody for further disciplinary action." The councilors looked down at the shackled commander as he was removed from their presence. The three remaining councilors continued their business as Shepard left, trying to keep the tenuous peace as best as possible. With Cerberus hitting Council supplies and ships, many of the races thought the humans should be punished more, but the ejection of Shepard from the Spectres quieted them down.

Shepard allowed himself to be led away without fighting. He didn't have the strength to fight. All he could think about was Tali. _If she knew what I had said three days ago... bosh'tet isn't a strong enough word._ He didn't even notice when Anderson took over for the C-Sec officers once they reached the elevators.

"I'm sorry, son. I did everything I could." The mellow voice of Anderson brought Shepard from his thoughts.

"What happened, Anderson? Everything we've done..."

"I know." His eyes were gentle on Shepard, the man who was as close to a son as the old war veteran would get. "I know."

They spent the rest of the trip to the dock in silence. The bay was mostly empty, save a few members of C-Sec and the odd traveler or two, most of whom didn't even notice the pair pass. Just before they got to the airlock door, Shepard stopped.

"What happened to my crew?" He asked.

Anderson shrugged. "The Cerberus personnel have been taken into custody for questioning. Your ground team dispersed about a day ago without much word. I know Vakarian went back to Palaven. The justicar said something about unfinished business. And the krogan boarded a ship to Tuchunka." There was a long pause where Anderson just watched the young man's face slowly drop.

"And Tali?" He said, almost a whisper. Anderson looked out over the Citadel. This bay had a particularly nice view.

The silence wasn't awkward in any way. Rather, it was a sullen, sinking silence. Shepard looked out over the Citadel as well, seeing the massive arms stretched out in front of him. When he felt a hand touch his shoulder, the commander looked up to see the eyes of a friend and father.

"Sometimes, you don't leave them behind."

An arm appeared around his waist, another across his chest, and a cold helmet pushed into his back.

"Shepard."

* * *

><p><strong>This was more of a chapterlet, but I thought I should have something in there to prepare for my next part. I won't be as closely following ME3 because I have plans (EVIL, DASTARDLY PLANS MWAHAHAHAHA!), but I also won't be throwing the story in the meat grinder. Anywho, enjoy and feel free to shoot me any ideas if you think they're good. Every little bit helps.<strong>


	8. Homecoming

**Chapter 8: Homecoming**

**SSV Yamato**

The Yamato was smaller than the Normandy, but familiar to the Alliance commander, not that he'd hold that title long. Shepard was afforded a great deal of autonomy on the frigate, more than a political prisoner should have, but his friendship with the CO granted him special treatment. That and being the Hero of the Citadel. It was refreshing to see other humans, at least the ones that didn't hate him because of Cerberus.

_"Don't worry about it, son. They'll get over it." Anderson had told him during one of their meals together._

It still hurt to see so many hate him. But being aboard an Alliance vessel again felt good, better than he'd have thought. And it helped that he had some company to share the converted storage room that was his cage. Even if she had to stay in her suit, it was still good to wake up next to Tali.

A stir at his side, told him the girl he was just thinking about was finally awake.

"Good morning." She mumbled, her brilliant eyes locked onto his.

A smile graced his lips, in part. "Good morning to you. How'd you sleep?"

Tali sat up and gave a long stretch, giving Shepard a nice look at her upper body. _Hard to believe I got one this good._ It was a more than pleasant sight, but it reminded him of what he'd said to Garrus half a week prior. _Garrus... I'm sorry._ Tali must have said something because the next thing he knew, she was hovering over him.

"John? Are you okay?"She said, concerned. It had barely been a day, and his face had remained the same neutral expression, save when they were alone. But he was unusually quiet then.

Even though he never wanted her to feel that way, it was comforting to know someone was watching out for him. "I was thinking." Shepard said. It was quiet in their little room. Only the hum of the engines made much noise. It wasn't as quiet as the Normandy, but it was quiet enough. He ran a hand along the side of Tali's faceplate, which rewarded him with a gentle smile from the quarian barely perceptible under the helmet but something he could easily see. "I'm sorry." He finally said.

Tali was confused, thinking about what he could have done wrong. It only took a moment to think of what he could be apologizing for. She reached up and put her hand on his, guiding it down to the latch contact. When he tried to pull away, she tightened her grip. "Bosh'tet." She whispered over the hiss of release. In a second, her lips were on his culminating in a deep, passionate kiss they had not shared in too long.

As much as he enjoyed it, a pang of fear went through Shepard. He worried for his love but was distracted by the excitement at feeling her lips once again. When she finally went for air, he said, "We haven't sterilized or anything. You'll get sick."

His worry was cute but irrelevant to her. "I don't care. It's been too long since I was with you, since I felt your skin." Tali was even considering stripping down there, but the look from her beloved Shepard stopped her. "I won't." She teased. "But I thought you at least deserved something." She gave him another deep kiss before slowly replacing her mask. "I don't blame you for this. I blame those bosh'tets at Citadel." A glance was thrown toward the door. "And the Alliance."

Shepard sat up, settling Tali in his lap at the edge of the bed. She playfully tried to keep him prone, but relented when he started pushing back. With one arm around his neck, and the other cradled, stroking his bare chest, she purred contentedly.

"Have I ever told you about my parents?" Shepard asked.

The suddenness of the question took Tali by surprise. _He never talked about them. I only briefly heard him talking to his mother._ "No." She was curious but didn't want to push too hard. This was obviously a soft subject.

"Both my parents are Alliance Navy. My father was a marine, my mother his XO." He started to gently stroke Tali's flank as he talked. "They never filed for a more permanent set-up. Father was Lieutenant and mother was a Commander." Tali hugged tighter as he told the story. "He was stationed at Shanxti on a temporary assignment. When the turians invaded..." His voice trailed off. No tears feel, he had finished his grieving a long time ago. That's why he'd hugged Tali so quickly when they found her father: he knew what the death of a parent was like. There was a twinge in his voice. "I barely talked to mom for weeks afterward. As soon as I was eighteen, I enlisted. All to make dad proud." His face held no sorrow, only regret so well-hidden, even Tali had to look for it.

She knew there was nothing she could do, so she just held him as close as she could. Minutes passed without either of them moving or saying anything. _That's why he's so quiet. He thinks he dishonored his dad._ Tali mused. How well she knew that feeling. "Hey," She finally said, guiding his face to her. Just looking into those deep blue eyes, eyes far too old, she was reminded how much she loved him and why. "Let's go for a walk."

The Crew Deck of the Yamato was smaller than the original Normandy's but seemed less crowded. Even now with the third shift off, the dining area seemed spacious. It made Shepard think about to the early days in the Alliance, before even N1, when it seemed like the nastiest thing in the galaxy was an ornery XO. He watched the crew laugh and talk as he and Tali sat at the far end of the mess.

"Missing the old days?" Tali teased. Her soft voice managed to make it over the ruckus that was quickly being raised by the enlisted crew. Even she couldn't help but admire their naivete.

Shepard chuckled, watching as the makings for a food fight started between the weary men and women. "They never would get away with this behavior if they had my first XO." He continued to watch with amusement as the first plate of food was sent flying. Within moments, the air was loaded with various concoctions of mixed foods. Even hugging the wall away from the crew didn't help much. Then a tray loaded with a soggy substance smacked Shepard right in the face.

Silence. Instantly even tray of food hit the floor and every soldier was at attention holding varying looks of worry and bemusement. Shepard slowly stood and wiped off his face. Tali reached out a hand for his but met only air. The commander walked to a small woman still holding her filled tray.

"Name." he ordered.

"Kerry Thompson."

"Rank."

"Petty officer third class, sir." She said quickly.

"Relinquish your tray, Petty Officer Thompson."

She held out her try for him to remove. Shepard held it up, examined the contents and weighed it for a second. He then looked behind him at Tali and gave a wink before catapulting the contents of the tray at her. In the surprise, she never had a chance to dodge as the food splattered all over her suit.

The fight was back on. Tali balled up as much as she could get and whipped it at Shepard, who tried to evade but got caught in the shoulder. As the men and women behind them showered food all over the place, the commander seized Tali and wrapped his arms protectively around her. Just as she was starting to enjoy it though, he spun her around and held her out as a shield as three crewman lobbed a mashed substance at her. The deck was uproariously loud with laughter.

"A-hem!" came a gruff voice, stopping the shenanigans. "Commander," the older officer scanned the room of food-covered crewmen. Once particularly coated man stepped forward. The officer looked him up and down before sighing heavily. "Admiral Anderson would like to have a word with you... after you clean up."

Shepard wiped off his face and gave Tali a weak smile.

"Bosh'tet." She said, grabbing the commander's hand and leading him to their room.

**Yamato, Conference Room**

Shepard walked into the conference room wearing his now-clean fatigues. On the far side of the room was Anderson looking out the window. Seated at the table was the officer who had retrieved him (the XO).

"You wanted to see me." Shepard stated, standing at rest in the doorway.

Anderson turned and handed a datapad he was reviewing to the XO. "Yes, Shepard. Wilson, make sure the Chief gets that wiring fixed on deck 3 yesterday." The officer stood and threw a salute before leaving the room, slowing to give Shepard a dirty look as he passed. "Commander, I have good news and bad news. Please, have a seat." Anderson said, gesturing to a chair opposite him. He lowered into his own seat and interlinked his fingers. "The good news is Alliance command gotten reports from a deep cover operative about the Reapers. The bad news is..."

Shepard waited expectantly. _The Alliance stills wants to deny it. _He thought.

"They can't make it public without risking further action by the Council."

"Figures." Shepard blurted. No one wanted to admit the Reapers were coming. _Probably so it doesn't ruin the parties._

Anderson nodded. "Agreed. But there isn't much we can do. Until the Alliance decides what to do with you, you'll be placed under house arrest. An apartment had been provided for your stay." He sounded almost hollow as he rattled all this off. The look must have been evident on Shepard's face. "I resigned from the Council."

Shepard's jaw dropped. "You resigned! Do you know what that means?" He stood. _That means-_

"Udina is the new human councilor." Anderson said, finishing Shepard's thought. "But he's what we need right now: someone who will bend over and take what the Council gives him." The admiral looked just as displeased as Shepard.

He wasn't happy about it, but there was nothing that could be done. "Let's hope he doesn't kill us all to please them."

"On a good note," Anderson said, trying to change the subject. "I've given clearance for Miss Zorah to stay with you on Earth if she wants."

_It's something._ Shepard thought. _But would she really want to stay on Earth?_

"Admiral, ETA ten minutes to Earth." The intercom piped in.

"Care to join me on the bridge, Commander? I think there's someone who'd like to see this."

**CIC, Bridge**

"Keelah, it's so blue." Tali said in amazement. She was clutching Shepard's arm tightly while looking at the deep blue marble that was Earth.

"This is only the second time I'll have been here." Shepard thought back to that day with his mother, visiting the monument that held his father's name. They may not have been married, but she loved him very much. It was one of the few pleasant memories he had now.

Tali's grip tightened. "I'm sorry, John." She said quietly. He dipped his head to give a peck on the top of her helmet. She nuzzled his shoulder.

"We'll be setting down in a few more minutes." The pilot said as the blue marble drew ever closer. A moment later, they breached the atmosphere.

"Keelah..." Tali said again as a cityscape raced under them. Even though human cities looked like crates stacked together compared to Illium; to Tali, the homeworld of her boyfriend was resplendent.

"Welcome home."


	9. Reception

**Chapter 9: Reception**

**Chicago, Earth**

"Docking procedure complete. Welcome home, Yamato." A pleasant voice said over the intercom.

Shepard and Tali waited by the airlock, flanked by assualt rifle toting marines. As the airlock opened, a large, tanned man stood outside. The couple stepped out, their guards following closely, and looked up at the hulking man before them.

The soldier threw up a salute. "Commander Shepard. I'm Lieutenant James Vega." The salute was dropped, replaced by a cheeky smile. "Your watchdog." That was when the lieutenant's eyes fell on Tali. "Uh, I didn't know you had a guest." He kept he confusion in his voice well hidden but noticable if you were looking for it.

"Relax, lieutenant." Anderson stepped out from behind Shepard. "She's been approved by me." His voice had no specific tone but felt a bit cold.

Vega gave a stiff salute. "Aye, sir. I'll take them to their bunk." With a nod from Anderson, he started away.

Anderson leaned in closer to Shepard. "I'll come by tomorrow to discuss the proceedings, Commander."

Shepard snapped to attention and threw up a salute but was met with a shake of the head from Anderson.

"We've been through too much for that." he said, extending a hand, which the commander took gladly. The old admiral pulled him in closer and laid a hand on his shoulder. "We'll take care of this, son."

Shepard nodded and released the admiral to catch up with Vega and Tali, both were waiting patiently for him a few paces ahead. The quarian wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned her head on his shoulder.

They walked slowly through a building, passing few people and garnering their looks. Some filled with confusion, others with surprise, and even a few with respect. It wasn't the most enjoyable time but seeing so many humans relaxed the tense commander. _Not quite home, but good enough._

"So, uh..." Vega started. Whatever it was he wanted to discuss was awkward for him. A second later, it was understandable why. "What exactly are you two?"

Shepard opened his mouth to speak. Tali was quicker. "Mates." She said forcefully. Shepard looked to her and gave a smile. She returned it in kind, even drawing a little closer to him. _Another step and she'll be walking on my toes._ Shepard mused, contented. He understood her nerves.

If this revelation surprised Vega, he didn't show it. But the two marines following them didn't have nearly as much control. "Shackin' up with a suit rat? He must be fucked up." One whispered to the other, thinking themselves unheard.

"This suit rat can convince your own pistol to slap that mouth off your face, bosh'tet." Tali snarled, shooting a menacing glare over her shoulder at the marine.

The marine chuckled and bore the assault rifle on his shoulder. "Oh yeah, cutie? Why don't you prove it to me." He was egging her on and she knew it.

_Useless human. If I had my shotgun, I'd make sure he remembered when to shut his mouth. _Tali turned to face the lewd marine. "People like you make me sick. Spouting off your ignorant insults. It's a wonder you're still alive." She gave a dramtic 'humph' and grabbed Shepard's hand, pulling him along. "Let's go, Vega. The quicker we get there, the less I have to deal with these bosh'tets."

"You little..." The marine stepped forward, threatening with his gun. Suddenly a fist caught him across the jaw.

"Leave her alone, private," Vega said. "if you value your life. I don't think Commander Shepard would let you hurt her." Vega pulled the dumbfounded marine off the floor and prodded him along. "Let's go, pendejo."

**[REDACTED] Building, Chicago, Earth**

The apartment was rather small for such an up-scale building. A single spacious room that served as a bedroom, living room, and kitchenette all in one with a bathroom and balcony leading off it. While Shepard was not that impressed, Tali was speechless. She was used to the closets each quarian family had in the Fleet and, now, Shepard's cabin on the Normandy. This was practically luxurious.

The first few minutes of their time was spent with Vega and Shepard watching the woman walk around the room playing with, touching, and otherwise admiring everything. The men were amused at seeing a full-grown woman look like a child that just saw fairies. To Shepard, it was refreshing to get some time to relax, even if the Reapers were to come tomorrow. That still gave him time.

"I think this place has been approved." Vega chuckled.

The commander smiled. "I think you're right, lieutenant." He watched as Tali bounced on her toes outside on the balcony. With the sun setting, her body was framed nicely by the orange light. _So beautiful_.

"Commander," James pulled him out of his thoughts. "You can just call me James. We owe you a lot more than what you're getting, sir." He was very serious. The smile that once graced him was gone, replaced by a scowl. Actually, he reminded Shepard of himself from years ago. Before the Reapers.

"Of course. I hope you don't mind, James, but my..." he hesitated. It wasn't that the word was uncomfortable to say, but rather that they never talked about it. The relationship had pretty much been a day-by-day thing. The hesitation was momentary though. "mate and I need to get settled."

Even though it was momentary, it was still noticable. And Vega noticed. That smile came back. "Of course, commander. I won't keep you. Your belongings should be in one of the closets and the air filtration unit is over in the corner." He gave a quick salute before walking out the door and to the elevator.

Shepard watched him as he left, wondering if the lieutenant knew anything, but that was quickly halted as Tali's voice sung in his ear.

"Did he say something about an air filtration unit?" Her voice was lower than normal. A tone she only used when trying to be alluring. _It's a good thing I've been preparing. _She thought. It had been diffiult to sneak the antibiotics and herbs when she and Shepard had been aboard the Yamato. It had paid off though. With Shepard watching her, she pressed the contacts to her faceplate and helmet, pulling both off with a rewarding hiss.

Shepard walked toward the beautiful girl he had so fallen for. "Tali, I..." He thought for a moment. He'd never truly told her how he felt. Sure, he showed it well enough, but he never said the words. He'd never said them to anyone. Well, no one when he was sober.

She pounced on the distracted commander, driving him to the ground, and landed her lips right on his. The kiss was more passionate then they had in a while, since their first kiss. When Tali finally pulled away, he tried to speak again but was stopped by a finger on the mouth. "Not yet." She reached behind her and felt more contacts. This time, Shepard removed her clothing. The air was in the apartment was cold, but all she felt was the heat of his body as his arms held her close and his lips kissed all over.

"Keelah. John, I-" Now it was Shepard that stopped it. No words, just a shake of his head and a smile, before he lifted her up and carried her to the large bed. At this point, neither of them were even thinking about sterilization and neither cared. They wanted eachother. Nothing would get in their way. But a soft hum told them the filtration system James mentioned was already runnning. _Good._ Tali thought. _I don't think I'll be getting dressed for quite a while._

Shepard was just pulling off her bottoms and his too. All that remained were his skivvies. It was easy to admire a man so well muscled as Tali had more than once noticed. Even now it was difficult to curb her tongue, or rather to free it from kissing his arms, chest, neck, anything nearby.

Suddenly, Shepard stopped moving. He was hovering above Tali, gazing into her luminescent eyes with a smirk on his face.

"What are we?" he asked. He knew this wasn't the best time, but it bugged him not to know. Everything in his life had a plan. Even dealing with the Reapers had a plan; maybe not a good one, but there was something. They... had nothing. They just were.

She stared at him, blinking a few times in confusion. _Right now? You're going to ask that right now?_ She thought. As annoyed as she was at having to put off their joining any longer than necessary, she was pleased to know that he wanted something. "I'm yours." She said simply, putting a bare hand to his face. His skin was hot compared to hers and bloodflow was obviously being redirected from other areas. _It's surprising he doesn't get light-headed._

That was what Shepard had wanted to hear from her. Without warning, he descended upon her, hands and mouth working in such perfect tandem on her body, it was difficult for Tali to hold herself back. And he knew it. So completely engrossed in this, she didn't even realize he was ready until something large and hot entered her.

Shepard knew that would send her over the edge and her tense form proved it. She didn't even hold her moan back as she released. She kissed him deeply again, tongue gently caressing his lips. Her taste set him on fire.

"Don't stop." Tali whispered lustfully into his ear.

_Oh, I won't_. Shepard thought

Hours later, she was still fast asleep in his arms. The lights of the city burned brightly outside, giving the room a soft glow of its own. The outline of her face was visible against his chest. How peaceful she looked fast asleep. The only sounds were light breathing and a few scattered words from her dreams. The transformation from goddess to helpless in his arms was seamless. Even as they had finished she had entagled herself in him.

_"Wow, John. I can't feel my legs." She said happily between breaths._

_ He was beside her panting as well, but refrained from saying anything. The smile said enough._

_ But Tali wanted more. "John, why did you ask that?" she was facing him now, a hand tracing the scars across his chest._

_ It was a fair question. Maybe she had always thought it was obvious. Or maybe she was just as confused as he. Either way... "I don't know. I guess I just wanted to hear what you thought."_

_ Wrong thing to say. "What do you mean? Don't you feel the same?" She was up now, leaving on a less than sturdy elbow looking him right in the eyes. They glowed so softly without her faceplate on, like stars._

_ Shepard reached up a hand to stroke her cheek. "I do, Tali. I wanted to tell you how I felt, but..." He paused again. If there was ever a time to say it, now was that time. But he couldn't bring himself to it. _

_ She smiled though. It wasn't like her normal smile, more like 'I know how you feel every day' and comforting. He had never needed to say anything. She loved him and she knew he loved her._

Even though that was hours and a nap away, it still burned in his consciousness like a beacon. How long had she known his feelings? Again, he looked down to the beautiful woman in his arms. One three-fingered hand on his chest and the other holding his hand tightly. So peaceful. Gently, Shepard turned and slunk off the bed, careful not to disturb the sleeping quarian.

When he found the closet, everything was packed so tightly, his duffel was almost locked in. Finally managing to pry it out (and avoid the impending avalanche of stuff), he began rummaging through the pouches at either end. In the front pouch, he found his quarry: the charred chunk of metal that read 'keelah'selia'. Looking back to the still quarian, he tip-toed over to the window and gazed out at the cityscape. Skyscrapers lined the skyline while smaller houses and buildings were squatted down below. It all looked so peaceful. Again, he looked at the metal plating in his hands. _Keelah se'lai._

A pair of arms slid across his waist followed by a warm body pressed against his back. "Tali?" he said.

"Mmrhmrmm."

Shepard twisted around in her arms. Her eyes were still shut and she was increasingly using him for support. "Go back to bed." he said with a smile. It was cute seeing her trying to sleep against him.

"Sssssssssh." She hissed. "We're sleeping. Don't wake us up."

Shepard gave a soft chuckle, keeping his stomach as still as possible. In one quick motion, he picked her up, carried her to the bed, and slid her limp body onto the mattress. When he started to release her, a hand latched onto his arm.

Even with a single glowing eye open, Tali looked a bit scary. She tried hard to put that tone in her voice too. "No. You too." There was no argument. Shepard slid in next to her, pressing against her closely. "Good. You're learning." She giggled and kissed him softly before drifting back to sleep.

When the sun finally broke, the commander thought it was all too soon. He kept pulling covers over him, eventually creating a coccoon of blankets around him. While warm and dark, he found himself alone in said coccoon. The sounds of dishes clanking alerted him, but with no Tali in bed beside him, it was easy to tell who was making the noise. Silently, he snuck out of bed and put his back against the wall that jutted out to seperate the kitchen from the bed. When there was a clanking nearby, he pounced, subduing the writhing female. "Gotcha."

"Commander. Good to see you out of bed. Though I wish I didn't see so much." Anderson said calmly.

It was only then Shepard realized he was still naked. Now using Tali as a shield, he manuevered his way back behind the wall and started to get dressed.

_Bosh'tet._ Tali thought as she was released and went back to cleaning up.

Vega, who was sitting at the small table with Anderson, was stiffling his laughter with little success. Even the admiral allowed a twitch at the corner of his mouth. "I'm glad you two are enjoying the arrangements I made for you." Anderson said, keeping his voice as stoic as his face.

It was these times Tali was glad to have a mask that hid her face. If any of the men saw her blushing, she'd never hear the end of it. "Yes, it was, uh, very kind of you, Admiral." Her accent was even thicker in her embarassment.

A fully clothed Shepard came from around the corner, his face not so lucky to be hid by a mask. All in all, he managed to at least sound unfazed. "I agree. It's a very nice cage." He stated, giving a cursory look around. A plate was set down in front of him carting an omlette and bacon along with a glass filled with a white liquid he guessed was milk. "Thanks, dear."

Tali caught the slip just before he realized. It was the first time he had ever called her by a pet name.

Anderson and Vega caught it too, this time both just smiling along as if nothing had happened.

"Shepard, about your trial," Anderson started. "it's been postponed indefintely. It seems there isn't enough support in the Alliance Parliment to court martial you."

Shepard and Tali both breathed a sigh of relief. That was one less worry. Something about Anderson's face said there was more though. Vega was more excited than them, but oblivious to any other news.

"There's a 'but' in there." Shepard said.

Anderson nodded. "You're stripped of your rank and discharged from the Navy. The Normandy with also be confiscated by Alliance Command."

"What do those knuckleheads think they're doing!" Vega yelled, standing from the table and almost knocking it over. Tali was exactly the same but qwelled her outrage. Shepard was less than surprised.

"They moved fast. Why didn't they throw me out the airlock like the Council?"

"You've got them scared, Shepard. A report from the Bahak system came through just before it went up in flames. The Reapers are coming, and we have less time than we hoped."

"How long?" Tali asked.

"Maybe six months, maybe a year... maybe a week. We can't say. Alliance Command is calling a Defense Committee. They want your help."

"I hate dealing with politicians, Admiral." Shepard said tersely. Udina and every politician like him was a snake in his mind. The galaxy needed more men of action and less armchair generals.

"I know, son. But you know about the Reapers. You've been there. We need your help."

Shepard sighed. "I can't say no, can I?" He looked to Tali, who was standing beside him, and took her hand. He knew what she would say _Something like 'Those bosh'tets deserve a little reaping for what they did, but you know you have to help.'_

"Good, good. I'll tell them your decision. Someone should be by in the next few days to catch you up. Until then," Anderson stood and put a hand on James' shoulder. "Lieutenant Vega will be your bodyguard. I hope you don't mind the formality."

Shepard shook his head. "Looks like a good kid. I owe him one anyway." Vega looked confused, but a quick look at Tali's wringing hands and Shepard's own soft smile hinted.

"I'm proud to serve under you, Commander." Vega saluted.

Shepard stood and extended a hand. "Mr. Shepard soon. Or John, if you prefer."

The marine took it and shook firmly. "We'll see."

"I'll talk to you as soon as I have something for you. Take care of yourself." Anderson shook Shepard's hand as well and giving a nod to Tali before turning to depart. Vega followed shortly afterwards but was stopped at the door by Shepard's call.

"Thanks for last night, James. I appreciate it."

He grew that cheeky smile and let out a laugh. "More than worth it to get such a nice breakfast from the missus." He nodded to the quarian in question before exiting, leaving the couple alone together again.

"Speaking of." Shepard said, turning to the woman dealing with the last of the dishes. "When did you learn to cook? Human food, no less."

She blushed, letting her grip on the couple of plates slip a bit. "Back on the first Normandy, shortly after we got together. Nothing ever came of it until after you..." Her voice got quiet. If she never thought about it again, it would be too soon: hearing Shepard's last words through the comm as he fell planetside.

_"Commander!" Joker yelled. "God dammit!"_

_ "It's too late. Get everyone out of here. Tell the Alliance and Council what happened." His voice was so calm._

_ "JOHN! NO! JOHN!" Tali screamed into the comm. Tears fell down her cheeks. No, not my John. Anyone but John._

_ "Tali, I want you to know that... I..." He fumbled for the right words._

_ She held back her tears as best she could. "I know, John. Keelah se'lia."_

_ She heard a laugh from his radio. "You know, I always wondered exactly what that meant." He was trying so hard not to cry, she could tell._

_ That brought her a desperate smile. "When I think of how to say it, I'll tell you." She couldn't hold back the sad laugh that burst out of her. It wasn't strong or enjoyable, just a single burst._

_ His was far stronger. "I'll hold you to that."_

_ Then there was static._

_ "Shepard? John? John!"_

She felt a hand on her arm. His hand. Her John was here with her now. For now, there was time. She took his hand and felt each digit, tracing the lines of his palm, illiciting a laugh of his and him pulling away.

"Careful. That tickles." He said, rubbing the center of his palm to dispell the funny feeling. He looked up to the glowing eyes of his mate and grinned. "So what are we gonna do today?"

Tali walked over to the nightstand slowly, swaying her hips a little extra (she knew Shepard was watching her, he always liked a good show), and picked up a charred piece of metal plating. "Well," she said. "you could start by telling me what this is." She held it out to Shepard and watched his eyes light up then dull.

"That's the piece of plating from my room that-"

"That you practiced your khelish writing on." She smiled. It felt good to know that he had kept it on him. Even better to know it had been one of his few possessions he brought with him. "I almost didn't believe it when I saw it."

He nodded and ran a hand over the metal. _Still covered in soot._ He thought as he pulled a dirty hand away. Then he got an idea. Holding Tali with one arm, he subdued her and started drawing on her faceplate with the soot. Despite her struggling and expletives, some of which were new, he managed a decent smiley face.

She crossed her arms and stood up, walking over to the window. "I hope your happy." She huffed.

He thought for a moment and shrugged. "Reasonably."

The quarian turned and tried to shoot him a dirty look, which is quite difficult when you have a black smiley covering part of your already shrouded face. She was about to insult him but decided against it. _Don't want to make this too easy on him_.

But her plan was diffused when she heard clothing shuffling and water running. When Tali looked back, she saw a half naked Shepard rummaging in his bag for a pair of pants. "What are you doing?" She was more upset now that her plan had failed though there wasn't much she could do.

He looked up, clutching a toothbrush in his mouth. "Shrering." He mumbled. When the pants were located, he removed the toothbrush and tried again. "Showering. You're welcome to join." He walked around the other corner from the bed that lead to the bathroom.

Tali waited for a moment. When she heard the water being interrupted from its steady stream, she knew he had won. Defused, she charged into the bathroom. _Oh he's not getting away that easy._

* * *

><p><strong>I know this chapter went from fluffier than an angora rabbit to more serious than a recently awakened Prothean soldier, but I was all wrapped up in my fluffy quilt at five in the morning writing so awkward stuff is bound to happen. Anywho, I know I went through the punishment of Shepard kind of quick, but I thought that was very lack luster in the game so I didn't want to focus on it; there are far more interesting things to tell you about. Now enough babbling from me and ON WITH THE SHOW!<br>**


	10. Wasted Time

**Chapter 10: Wasted Time**

Tali had no idea how long they had been in the shower together until she came out to a mid-day sun. Even in the day, the city looked beautiful to someone who had lived their whole lives on ships. She was, unfortuantely, in her suit as she looked out over the terrian. Even know, the general uneasiness and a light pressing in her nose told her she was coming down with something. _Still worth it._ She thought back to the night before and their rather lengthy shower. So focused on her own musing, Tali barely notcied when two muscular arms slipped around her stomach and squeezed. With his chin resting on her shoulder, Shepard joined her in looking out over the city. "At least I won't be the only one in a suit." She muttered, playing with the cufflinks on the now ex-commander's clothing.

Shepard just sighed, returning with a half-hearted "Eh. It'll be nice to eat hot food and sleep in a nice bed for a change." He was obviously forgetting about his posh treatment while with Cerberus. They continued staring out the window for a few moments longer before they said anything.

"So what did you want to do today?" Shepard asked, giving his girl a quick sqeeze. His omnitool beeped and flashed on his arm, something he patently ignored. _Whatever it is can wait._

"You may not want it to wait." Tali said knowingly, shifting in his arms to face him. A quick peck from him and she escaped to get some things around for today.

Shepard didn't miss his chance to get a lingering look at the behind of the beautiful quarian and watch her slightly exaggerated and slow steps. He could never get away with casting a look subtly at her it seemed. With less enthusiasm than a krogan at a tea party, he brought up the message. It was one from a ranking Alliance officer informing him about a Defense Committee meeting later today. It was the usual flimflam he expected from politicians over officers, but he remembered that the two jobs become one at the top. Sometimes, anyway. Either way, they only had until five before both he and Tali were expected (though it was clear she was invited more as a second thought). It left them with a few hours of freedom, well, mostly free.

And there was the expected knock on the door. Tali got to it first, revealing an imposing James Vega. He stepped in and offered a hand to Tali, which she took casually as if unsure of the gesture, and a salute to Shepard who returned it more out of instinct than anything. "I got a message about the meeting. They want me to escort you there later." He sounded a bit annoyed at playing babysitter.

Shepard just nodded and walked over to Tali, taking her by the hand. "Since the meeting is in town, we'll be leaving at 1600."

James nodded and glanced at the two. "Am I interrupting?"

"We were just heading out to pick up some supplies. There are a few things we still need." Tali said very seriously. Only the slight color of Shepard's cheeks hinted at the 'supplies' use.

Thankfully the marine was oblivious and just nodded once again. "Do you require an escort?" Since everyone knew his position as bodyguard was more of a formality than a practical job, he didn't take it very seriously for something this small. "Be careful, the streets can be pretty dangerous even in the day." With that, he left them to their preperations.

The bright sun highlighted a rather blissful walk. Shepard held tightly onto Tali's hand despite the repeated looks it brought them. Even though the Alliance puts up a more accepting front, the humans of Earth don't hide their xenophobia. Tali heard 'suit rat' more than she thought she would. A look to Shepard told her she wasn't the only one who heard.

Despite this, they managed to enjoy collecting their supplies and even had a decent lunch at a levo-dextro restraunt. The owner, an elderly turian, seemed unphased by the couple, even throwing a few scary looks at some more gossipy customers. It was close, but they made it back to their apartment with a couple minutes to spare. Just enough time to put everything away and be ready to deal with the Committee.

A beep sounded from the door and Vega stepped into the room. "Ready, sir, ma'am?" He tapped out a quick salute.

Shepard looked to Tali and shook his head. "We're ready, Lieutenant. Lead on." The couple walked out, arm-in-arm, behind James. The trip there was pleasant, taking a quick flight over the city. This time, even Shepard was impressed at the city: huge skyscrapers and shining flats dotted the landscape. Other skycabs flitted past, generating a zipping sound. Though the trip itself was uneventful, which let Shepard think about what he would say.

_If they're just gonna throw the Reapers under the rug, will anything actually happen? Are they just trying to keep me quiet? Damn the Council! The galaxy will burn because of their foolishness._ The soft setting of the sun provided a nice backdrop to these thoughts as he watched its rays creep slowly. There was something to be done, but what?

Tali was worried about Shepard: he was quiet today. It didn't help that her nose was beginning to feel more like a balloon and her headache alone could cripple a Reaper. The brief contact on the ship hadn't affected her much, just a minor sore throat that only lasted a few hours, but twice in less than a day without sterilizing the room, that was a mistake. Despite how she felt though, she knew Shepard would want her by his side, but she couldn't tell him how sick she was or he'd send her home to rest. No matter how prepared he seemed, she knew how it really worked

"Well, get them ready." She lied. It wasn't a good lie, but it had the desired affect of relaxing the tense Shepard. He twitched his lip and squeezed her knee before returning to his thoughts. Sometimes, she couldn't help but wonder what he always thought about so much.

Vega wasn't too excited about this either. He believed the Reaper threat was real. Even more, he trusted in Commander Shepard. His record was impressive, a true exemplar of humanity. Now to be treated like Earth's dirty little secret was loco. _Suppose that's what a crazy officer gets, crazy treatment._ It gave the marine a minor chuckle, but it didn't help his sinking feeling that this was just a way to get the commander out of the way.

**Ulyesses Building, Chicago, Earth**

The Defence Committe's buiding wasn't terribly spacious, just an old military base converted into an administrative building for the Alliance. As they landed, a man in dress blues came out to greet them.

"Ensign Hawkes." He introduced himself, offering a hand to Shepard first then Vega, both accepted. When Tali got out though, he narrowed his eyes briefly at her before continuing. "Follow me, the Committee is about to start. Walk quickly." Another glance to the quarian and they were off. The inside of the building was more interesting than the outside, but it wasn't as advanced as Arcturus Station or even the Normandy.

Soldiers moved through the building carrying assault rifles as normally as the various administrative personnel ran with papers. It was worrisome to Shepard that security had been buffed so quickly, but one could never be sure who was or wasn't indoctrinated. _Maybe the Alliance is taking this seriously._ Some screens on their way read with news reports including journalists like al-Jilani, others had Council news and even a turian station. It wasn't long before they reached a large locked door.

"Step inside please." Ensign Hawkes beckoned. He looked about ready to spring on Tali when she went through with Shepard, but held himself back when the members spoke up.

"Mr. Shepard, Ms. Zorah, Lieutenant, please have a seat." The woman in the center said. At a nearby table was three empty seats along with two filled by Admirals Hackett and Anderson. A terse nod was exchanged between Shepard and them as he sat, each eager to get to business. The chairwoman nodded and began. "Now that we are all present, it's time to discuss the Reaper threat. Admiral Hackett, I believe you had something you wanted to say."

The grizzled old admiral stood, his face as stone as always. "Yes. It's time to stop playing games. We need to focus on building our armies, fortifying our colonies, sending out scouts War is coming, it's time to act like it. This will be nothing like we've ever experienced before." He sat slowly, watching the Committee.

None of them seemed phased. "We understand your thoughts, Admiral." The chairwoman started. "But we can't just start arming and mobilizing our fleets." Her voice was level but carried a hint of condescension. "Do you have a less... obvious idea, Admiral?" She looked from her raised position down at the group. The group was silent. "I see. Well, we don't have much to talk about it seems. Alright, moving to our second order of business, we have received a message from Scotland Yard about alleged Cerberus agents. Currently, the officers there are..."

Her voice faded against the background for Shepard. He was too focused on their instant refusal to do exactly what they needed. He kept himself quiet, but the anger was went on more about Cerberus and fleet movements and increasing recruiting, nothing very interesting or helpful. Even something about Commander Shepard training recruits or doing vids, which he nodded numbly to. He felt Tali's comforting hand on his at some point in the meeting. Even Hackett was passively listening at this point, looking over to Shepard and shaking his head as the rather annoying woman continued on with her reports and bureaucratic nonsense. The meeting wore on with a final remark just before the sun was fully set.

Once the group was fianlly out of the room, Hackett's gaze almost bore through the door before he spit. "Bunch of fools." It was hard to disagree with that sentiment, they kept sidestepping the issue of dealing with the Reapers and focused more on Cerberus. "I can't believe Alliance Command would set this pointless group up. If we have to run through these circles until the Reapers come, we'll be too tired to fight."

Shepard crossed his arms and leaned against the nearby wall. "Looks like we may have to handle this ourselves." How they would manage that without the Committee knowing, he had no idea. "Otherwise the Reapers will have no problem taking Earth and every other planet."

"Maybe I can talk with some of the other admirals. With enough of us, we might get the Alliance to give us some lee-way." Anderson offered. Hackett nodded.

"I have a few friends old friends in Parliment. I'll contact them about refitting a few old cruisers with Cerberus tech from the Normandy." He looked over to Shepard. "If we can get the VI to cooperate." His look implied he knew more about EDI than he said.

Vega spoke up, drawing the attention of the group. "Some of the other marines and I have been coming up with a few new training routines. Maybe it's time we started using them." He shrugged. It would be a minor help. Some help is better than none though. He was pleasantly surprised by Hackett's response.

"Get to work on it, Lieutenant. Run urban combat and evac drills. We'll be doing a lot of fighting on the ground." His eyes shifted to Tali, who was standing silently by Shepard. His gaze reminded her of her father when she was in trouble. "Can you get ahold of the Migrant Fleet? Perhaps we could enlist their help too. That large of a fleet must be able to come up with something."

Tali was flabbergasted by the suggestion of enlisting quarian aid. Most people would speak out against it if not consider starting a riot over the mere thought, but the hard eyes of the admiral were unwavering. He was deadly serious. She tried to hold the sniffling out of her voice as she talked. "I could send a message to the Admiralty board _*sniff*_. Though chances of any _*sniff*_ help are slim." she said, summoning her omnitool. _Xen and Gerrel won't like the idea one bit, but maybe Auntie Raan and Koris will approve_. She sent the message to all four but included a slightly differing message to Raan and Koris. Vega's lips tightened as he glanced over at Shepard and Tali, but he did keep his opinions to himself.

Hackett nodded in approval. "Good. We all have our assignments. Let's not have these fools get in our way." As the group dispersed, Hackett held Shepard back. "I know it's difficult being stuck in drydock, but you have to lay low for awhile. If you do anything brash, Command might get suspicious. You deserve a rest, Commander. Try to think of this as a mandatory vacation."

Shepard exhaled air sharply out of his nose. The Reapers were too important for him to 'take a vacation.' Hackett ignored his response and walked away, receiving salutes all down the hall. He just stared after him, seething. Even Tali's cool hand didn't calm him as it usually would. They made the walk back to the skycab in silence, Vega leading only a step ahead. Tali was holding tightly to Shepard's hand and sending a few disguised glares at the humans they passed that looked rather annoyed at the couple.

Hawkes had listened closely to their plans to subvert the Committee. They had interesting plans, even falling so far as to ask the suit rats for help. How desperate they must be to prepare for the Reapers. It was almost sad. Hawkes' green eyes flashed coldly as they spoke, absorbing every detail and word. His report would have to be complete. The Committee had done its job in silencing Shepard and the Alliance had grounded him, now it was the Ensign's turn. He ran a hand through thick obsidian hair. _This will be better than good._

He stalked to a nearby terminal, making sure to remain unnoticed by the traitorous group. He tapped out a quick coded message to his employer. It was not but a moment before a response was back and he allowed himself a rare hissing laugh before silently slithering back to his place by the group, continuing the recon. All the while, he kept an eye on Shepard. If anyone could throw a wrench in the plans, it was Shepard. And then there was his quarian pet. She would be dealt with as well.

As they left, Hawkes brought up his omnitool. So far, everything was going according to plan.

The trip home was as quiet as the trip there but with an air of tension. With the deepening night came the bright lights of the city and the brilliance of colors. It was beautiful seeing multicolored lights flash about the cab. Again, Tali was amazed with the sights of Earth as they wizzed above the city and the lights blended into a rainbow of color.

"Keelah." she sighed, watching the colors go by.

Shepard put his arm around her shoulders and drew her in. "My mother told me Earth was beautiful. I don't really remember much from my first visit." He looked down at her as the blended lights played across her faceplate. "I'm glad I got to see it with you."

Tali smiled under her mask. She wished so much that he didn't have to watch her through a mask, that he could see just how happy she was with him. Maybe someday, but not now. The temptation to tell Shepard she loved him seeped in, thought she decided that saying it for the first time in front of someone else would ruin it. Instead, she settled for snuggling into his arm for the short trip home.

They got back to the apartment and said their goodbyes to Vega, who insisted on calling Shepard "commander" and saluting him, which he complained about even though he did enjoy it. Tali flopped onto the couch and let out a long restrained groan as soon as the marine was gone.

"Keelah, that was painful. If those bosh'tets had talked any longer, Chiktikka would have been busy." She kept her eyes tightly closed and buried her face as deep in a pillow as it would go.

"If you were so sick, you should have stayed home." He said, worry slipping into his tone. He was at his omnitool without hesitation looking for a medical scanning program to see the damage when a hand stopped him.

Tali was looking right in his eyes now. "It's fine. I just have a haedache and a nose the size of this pillow." She slapped the pillow that was now in her lap. He still looked unconvinced. "You don't make me as sick anymore, John. It was our shower after Lieutenant Vega and Anderson left." She poked him with her elbow. "Not that I minded that shower." A mischevious twinkle and a wink were added for good measure.

Shepard couldn't reign in the smile that grew across his face. He was still worried, but since Tali was taking it so lightly, he relaxed. As much as her suit annoyed them both, her safety was important, and the next few nights, it'd be getting in the way.

Tali, however, had something different on her mind. "Shepard," she started, looking down at the hand she was holding. It was a strong hand, every muscle was easily felt as she traced the digits. "I was wondering: What happens when this is all over?"

Shepard was taken aback. To be honest, he'd never really thought about them after the Reapers. He'd never really thought about what they would be past the next week. Assuming the Reapers were defeated and assuming they lived, what would they do?

"I felt you tense when I told Vega we were mates. I didn't mean to assume we were, I mean, I thought it was safe to assume but I don't want to push you into being with me, I would like it if you were, but I don't want you to think that-" She was stopped by a hand on her vocalizers.

Shepard grinned at her. "I'm not going anywhere. I can't leave the first woman I ever really..." He stopped. The smile died down and was replaced by a neutral mouth and wider eyes. Now was the perfect time, but still he was nervous to tell her. Even if they both knew, it was still a big deal to him.

Tali put his hand up to her faceplate, about where her cheek would be, and gazed into his deep, sapphire eyes. Those eyes that were equally deadly and kind, bitter and sweet.

The soft light emitted from her own eyes was equally duplicitous. Shepard's nerves died down, and he regained that tender smile. "I love you, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy.

"I love you too, John." She replied

They slept extra close that night, Shepard's strong arms surrounding her and holding her tight. Even through the suit, she could feel his warmth and hear his heartbeat pound.

The night was not so cuddly for Hawkes, who sat alone in his room on a black leather chair. Outside the low window was a beautiful park in which stood a lone tree. It was an ancient tree. The ensign's gaze bore through it though, and he looked out toward the rest of the city. An alert rang out from his terminal, a call from his employer. With no hesitation, he brought up the face.

"Ensign Hawkes, it's good to see you again. I got your report on Shepard." The voice was naturally persuasive and smooth.

"Yes, sir. Our plans are moving forward as you predicted."

"Good. Good. Contact me again when phasse two is completed." He took a long drag on his cigarette. "Oh, and make sure Shepard doesn't get wind of you. I'd hate to have to replace such a good operative."

Hawkes threw a salute and gave a menacing smile. "You can count on me, sir. Hawkes out." The face dropped from the screen and the room was bathed in blackness once again. From the top drawer of his desk, Hawkes brought out a antique pistol and checked it's six-round chamber. With a flick, the chamber clicked back into place. _Everything according to plan_.


	11. Some Good News

**Chapter 11: Some Good News**

**[REDACTED] Building, Chicago, Earth**

_A dark forest. Whispers. Shadows. A note, no, a drone. A Reaper? Red lights shining down. Heat. Burning. The Earth on fire. Palaven, Thessia, Sur'Kesh, Tuchunka, The Citadel. Everyone gone. Alone. All alone in the dark._

Something was chocking him. Shepard's eyes flew open and he lunged forward, tackling his armored assailant to the ground. Instinct set in and in a second, his prisoner was pinned and just a move away injury. A voice drew him out though. Then he recognized, who was pinned under him.

"John..." Tali said through rough breaths. Her suit glimmered in the light from the city, multiple colors reflecting of the metal.

"Tali? Oh God." Shepard released her and he threw his arms around her in a tight hug. "Oh God, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize."

She rubbed his bare back gently cooing. "It's alright. I'm safe. You didn't hurt me." When he pulled back, the worry on his shadowed face was still evident. She brough up her hand to his face and pulled it close to her faceplate. "See, fine." A smile drew on her liips, even though she knew he couldn't see it.

He nodded and grabbed one of her hands. "I felt someone choking me and just reacted. What was going on?"

"You were yelling 'no, no, no' repeatedly. I tried to shake you awake, but you wouldn't budge. You started hypervenilating."

Shepard watched her as she talked, trying to remember what his dream was about. For the life of him, he couldn't recall. Something about a forest maybe. "I don't even remember what I was dreaming about."

Tali stood, pulling Shepard up with her, and went to the kitchen, holding onto his land as long as she could before leaving him by the bed. She looked through the cupboards for awhile for the coffee (they hadn't had much of a chance to sort everything). When she foud her quarry, Tali had to figure out how to make it using a small instruction label on the bag.

Shepard crept behind her and took a position leaning against the wall. He still felt guilty about what he did, but what really bothered him was the dream and fact he couldn't remember it at all. Whatever it was, it was over, and he was with his mate- even if she did have to stay in the suit. As if to puncuate this, she unsuccessfully held back a sneeze and unceremoniously flung coffee grounds all over. It was a feat to stifle the laugh that tried to escape. He went to find the broom if only to make sure that laugh stayed down.

Tali looked over dejectedly then down at the grounds on the floor. "Damn." She put the bag down and went to look for a broom, which Shepard kindly appeared with and started cleaning up for her, even stopping to kiss her mask. They managed to work well enough around each other and even got the coffee brewing. Tali stalked over to the couch and slumped down, quickly joined by the far more bouncy Shepard. "It's too early for this." She said, leaning against his chest and closing her eyes.

He stroked her arm and allowed himself to get relaxed as well. It was difficult with odd bits of metal sticking into you, but he found a position where they didn't hurt as much as were annoying. "I love you." He whispered.

It was Tali's turn to have a little laugh. "You know, I was wondering when you would say that to me." She opened one eye.

"Wait... what? I said it last night."

Tali giggled again. "I know. Took you long enough." She teased.

Shepard shook his head and smiled. "I wasn't that obvious."

"Oh yeah?" Even through her mask, her unbelieving expression was easily readable. "You don't remember what happened the night before we took on Saren."

That was true, he didn't remember. It was almost three years ago, well, more like almost one year ago for him. "You can't hold that against a dead guy." He countered.

"I thought you were only mostly dead."

"Well... yeah."

_ They were tangled in each other on the bed after, enjoying the cuddling almost as much as the sex. Shepard was running a hand up and down her flank while she closed her eyes and nuzzled his chest. She looked so peaceful lying in bed. So gentle too, quite different from the ravenous animal she was on the battlefield or even just a moment ago. It was the way he had always seen her though: a warrior in battle, but a quiet genius anywhere else. If there was anything worth fighting for, it was her. She meant more to him than he wanted to admit. Was this love? Is being willing to die for someone love?_

_ Tali was thinking the same things: would she go back to the Fleet after this? Shepard couldn't come with her. That was almost enough to make it an automatic 'no'. But it was the her home. She couldn't abandon it. Did he feel the same as her? Did he fight for her? Did he love her? How badly she wanted to hear thosse words. How badly she wanted to say them too. It was difficult to sleep with these thoughts; however, when she heard the gentle snoring from Shepard, she found herself relaxing more in his strong arms._

_ "You mean you don't know?" Liara was shocked. It was so blatant that even Wrex knew about it the moment they first bonded. To think she wouldn't know..._

_ "It's not like he's said anything." Tali was wringing her hands again. The 'girl time' that was happening now had been an accident: she was trying to ask Dr. Chakwas about it when Liara had walked in at the wrong time._

_ The cool-headed doctor remained silent with a sagely look on her face. It was interesting to watch the young woman be so nervous about something that should be easily seen. Maybe she was too focused to notice all the times the commander visited Engineering to watch her work._

_ "He doesn't have to say anything, Tali. He's always watching you with a silly grin on his face. More often than not, you're the one he goes to see to talk. And how many times have you slept in his cabin?" Liara crossed her arms over her chest, feeling quite victorious._

_ "He cares about everyone. I don't get treated like that." She half thought that was a lie now that so much had been pointed out. But slightly special treatment it natural in a relationship. Love was... different._

_ "Liara has a point." Now it was Chakwas' turn. "When you speak, his eyes are glued to you. If you're even in the room, he'll look over to you no matter he's doing. If I have to have one more 'mating ritual' talk with him, I may start to record them for the extranet." She loosed a slightly sadistic chuckle at that._

_ "Record what for the extranet?" Shepard stepped into the med bay. Upon seeing the group of women all staring at him with smiles that said 'I know something you don't', he starting to leave again. _

_ When he was almost out the door, Chakwas called out, "Don't leave, Commander. We would __**love**__ for you to stay."_

_ "Yes, Shepard, that would be __**love**__ly." Liara said. _

_ Both were snickering at their jokes while Tali just sat quietly. This was another time she appreciated the mask. Without it, the color of her cheeks would be bright enough to be used as a flashlight. She half hoped Shepard would catch what they were talking about. No such luck._

_ "Right." He slowly said, holding out the 'i'. "Um, I should get back to work. Doctor, when you're free, I need to talk to you." He walked out, leaving the women alone again._

_ They all guffawed once he was gone. Even Tali couldn't hold in a chuckle. She never realized how much he cared for her. Even in that rather awkward conversation, he had locked eyes with her multiple times. This was something to think about._

As she explained all this to Shepard, even he couldn't help but admit how oblivious he was to his own behavior. And now he knew what some of those looks were that he received from kids on the Citadel. And where that ad about he and Tali came from too. "The things you learn from other people."

She put a hand to her vocalizer. "Now that I think about it, there were a lot of ways I was obvious too. And Chakwas made sure to tell me about those later too."

"At least I'm not alone in this then." Shepard teased as he stood to get a cup of coffee. He felt her hand brush his thigh as he left and thought he heard a quiet 'bosh'tet'. This time, it'd slide, but the next time, he had the perfect way to retaliate. The coffee had just finished brewing and was piping hot as he poured it into a plain mug. As terrible as black coffee tasted, it was too early to go sifting through the cupboards and fridge to find sugar or cream. Surprisingly, it wasn't half bad, but a nice mint twist wouldn't hurt.

Meanwhile, Tali went back to the bed and checked her omnitool. The headache was gone but there was a sneeze just waiting to happen in there somewhere. She had a minor infection, nothing that would last more than a few days. _That's good. I hate being trapped in this suit with John right here._ The time read 5:13, which meant it was almost dawn. Just another thing she'll have to wait to see.

And on cue entered Shepard. "It's been a long time since I've gotten to see the dawn from a planet." He flopped on the bed, careful to keep his coffee-wielding hand steady. The first rays of light were creeping over the horizon, highlighting the cityscape that stretched out before them. "You know, I've never been to Chicago before." He sipped on the coffee and gazed out wistfully. "It loses something without your friends." A three-fingered hand ran through his hair, and the eyes of the quarian were locked on his.

"You have me." She said contentedly. She slid next to him and cuddled up as close as she could get. Even though the sunlight had to be filtered through the visor, seeing it with Shepard for the first time made it more special. "I love you, John."

"I love you too." He replied, leaning his head against hers.

**Ulysses Building, Chicago, Earth**

The second meeting went no better than the first. Everytime the Reapers were mentioned, the Chair instantly changed topics. If it had been a dance, no partner could have kept up. The fury was building up in more than just Shepard. As the collect face of Admiral Hackett was wearing down. If he looked closely, Shepard could see his nose scrunch everytime the subject was changed. The only good news came during their lunch recess.

Anderson pulled them over, away from anyone who could listen. "So far one other admiral is on board with us. And Captain Shepard is working on another for me." He cast a quick glance over to Shepard then looked away.

Tali looked to Shepard too. She saw the hidden guilt on his face and wanted to ask him about it. But this was not the time of place to discuss family.

"Ms. Zorah, have you gotten a response from the Migrant Fleet yet?" Hackett's gritty voice drew her attention immediately.

"Not yet. It may take some time before they can get back to us." She said quickly.

The old admiral nodded. "I see. Inform me as soon as they respond. And it's good that you are better." He added almost seamlessly.

Again, Vega shot Tali and Shepard a look and flashed a smile, but quickly regained stoicism.

"My contacts in Parliament are working as fast as they can, but they're more worried about making sure everything is done by the books." Hackett was wearily rubbing his chin. All the running in circles was getting to him too.

Vega jumped into the conversation. "Good news is my superiors approve of urban combat training. They say the men don't get enough of it as is. Live fire drills start tomorrow." He felt slightly more pride than he probably should have, but at least not all their efforts seemed in vain.

Anderson, however, wasn't any more pleased. "Damn it, why is this so hard. It feels like we're dragging our feet through the mud. Sometimes I almost wish a Reaper would appear just to kick Command in the teeth." He shook his hanging head slowly. That sentiment was widely shared.

Just as Shepard was about to speak, Ensign Hawkes walked over with a brilliant poker face. "The Committee is ready to resume whenever you are ready. Though they do wish to get underway." He stood quietly by the group, watching their every move despite the arguably dirty looks he was getting. With a quick look to eachother and an unspoken descision, they followed the calm ensign back to the chambers.

Again, the precedings were bland and uninformative. There was an interesting bit about the Council ordering a dozen or so dreadnoughts to be built by the turians. Something about "replenishing the Citadel Defense Fleet." At least some waves were being made. There was another short qwip about the batarians moving in on human colonies, but that was brushed aside quickly. Another meeting where Shepard felt more like a set piece than someone who helped.

"So this is what statues feel like." he muttered under his breath. By now, his head was resting so hard in his hand, there was a print.

Tali nudged him a bit to make sure he was paying attention. Even though she knew just how pointless and dull this meeting was. Looking around, she even noticed the Committee twidling their thumbs and barely listening. At least they weren't the only ones bored.

Then: "Mr. Shepard, we have recieved word from a friend of yours about a delegation coming to Earth. It seems turian High Command wishes to speak with you." The chairwoman said blandly.

That perked everyone at the table up, Shepard most of all. He stood straight up and muscled into the conversation before the woman could go on. "When is this delegation to arrive?"

She was surprised by this outburst but moved on quickly, if unhappily. "A week. You will be sent for when they arrive." She glared at the former commander in the most intimidating way trying to seat him, but Shepard wouldn't budge. "Please take your seat, Mr. Shepard."

He stood up taller and returned her stare with far more force. This meeting had already taken most of the day and nothing had been accomplished. The intensity of his glare was enough to unnerve the woman and make her break first. He regained his seat once the victory had been achieved.

"Looks like someone was listening to you yell." Vega said, adding in a cough to hide it more.

Shepard nodded. "I should make a few calls."

The meeting ended another two or three hours later, leaving everyone feeling anything but energetic.

"If I have to sit through those boring meetings for the rest of the time we have left, I may resign." Hackett mused, giving his neck a much needed rub.

"Agreed," Anderson added. "It's been a week of nothing but talk. Nothing's even been started or planned."

Shepard crossed his arms over his chest. "At least the turians are trying. Maybe this delegation can convince the Committee to move their asses."

"Shepard, you said you had to make a few calls." Hackett pointed out.

"Yes, sir. There are a few friends who mightbe able to help."

Hackett gave a curt nod. "Good. We'll need it to move these stones." His expressionless face twitched momentarily at referring to the Committee, but never revealed itself.

They all parted company, the admirals going their own way and Shepard, Tali, and Vega going theirs. "Garrus?" Tali asked, tugging on Shepard's arm as they walked.

He smirked. "Hopefully. He's the only turian whose stick-up-the-ass attitude I can handle." There were other thoughts he had, but he kept them to himself. Besides, Tali would never approve of male bonding time between them since it usually involved beating eachother up, alcohol, or both. _I hope he's forgiven me for what I said_. That thought retracted his smirk.

Something Tali noticed. "Are you alright?" She asked, a lovingly worried lilt in her voice. When she received no answer, she let the matter drop for now. There were a few things that she wanted to ask him in private anyway.

**[REDACTED], Chicago, Earth**

It twilight when they returned to the apartment. Since everyone was tired, Vega quickly left them alone and Shepard dropped onto the couch, holding his hands over his face. "We have less than a year before the Reapers come and they want to talk about a batarian cargo ship flying into Alliance space rather than the giant death robots."

"Why haven't you talked about your mother?" Tali interjected, garnering a peek from Shepard.

There was a pause, as if he was trying to fabricate a good answer for that. Finally, "It never came up." He said, nonchalantly.

Tali sat down hard next to him. "Have you talked to her yet?" She tried to take his hand, but he kept it away. "John..."

Shepard leaned back and dropped his hands to his knees. Now that he looked at it, the ceiling actually had an interesting pattern on it with little swirls. But that wasn't what should be on his mind. "I guess," he started. "I never found time."

It was too bad that Tali had to wear her mask, so Shepard couldn't see her jaw drop. Though the sight of her eyes going wide was more obvious.

"It's not that I'm trying to avoid it." He defended. "It's just... what do I say?" He looked to Tali as if asking her.

She stared for a moment then shrugged. "I guess I don't know. You did come back from the dead."

"Yeah." He sighed heavily. Shepard grabbed her hand and gave a light squeeze. _A stiff drink sounds good right about now_. He thought.

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><p><strong>So Spring Break is on, so I won't be working very much this week. I need a bit of a break too: I felt this chapter was a bit forced, which means it's time to relax. So I'll play through Mass Effect a few more times and get right back on this :) Have a great week!<strong>


	12. An Unfortunate Day

**UUUUUUUURRGH! I don't think it's possible for me to be happy with this chapter. I wrote and rewrote it a dozen times. Oh well, I managed to do a pretty nice job with it. And once my intense writer's block is done (after my head-meet-wall therapy every day), I'll begin posting regularly again. Until then, enjoy!  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12: An Unfortunate Day<strong>

The next week passed quickly and uneventfully. Between regular meetings with a few of the Alliance top brass Hackett and Anderson had drummed some support from and briefing ground teams on Reaper ground forces, Shepard had almost no time to himself except for a full eight hours each night. He came home exhausted and curled into bed and was up, dressed, and out the door in ten minutes every morning. It killed him to have to rush so much and not get to spend time with Tali, but they both knew this was more important.

Tali, on the other hand, was bored out of her mind. Since most of the humans were less than fond of quarians, she had to avoid the meetings. She spent most of the day lounging about the apartment reading and cleaning. There was a surprising amount of information she had no idea about. The customs and rituals were unlike anything she had seen before: most of it she understood, but some events, like the prom or bachelor party, were a complete mystery to her. Lucky, Tali was able to keep up on current engineering equipment and work-arounds to boost power management (not that she needed any help). When the call for the turian delegation finally came, she couldn't help but give thanks.

With a sigh of relief that was probably a bit too loud, Shepard forced himself out of bed followed by the eager Tali. Wrapping and arm around her waist, he escorted her out of their apartment. Two steps out and Vega fell in step right in front of them. He was dressed more formally for this, which made Shepard feel a bit daunted wearing just his streets. The trip to the Uylesses Building was familiar to all three of them by now. Too familiar. When they arrived, it wasn't hard to find the delegation due to the sound of angry voices resonating through the halls.

"Call of your soldiers, _Colonel_, or I'll walk out of here right now!" The male voice was unknown though obviously a turian one.

The colonel was one of the Committee members; her voice was almost too well-known for the trio. "General, please calm down. They are here for your protection."

"If I need this much protection in the heart of the Alliance, Earth is already too far gone to save!"

"General Aquila, take your seat. If you must leave, at least wait until you hear us out!" Now the woman was yelling as well. Shepard quickened his pace to reach the door just as the reply was fired off.

"The only reason we're here is because the Council thinks it would be best to work with you. And because Commander Shepard is greatly respected even still in the galaxy. Maybe you should learn your- Commander. I see you've arrived." The general had been almost in the woman's face when he noticed Shepard standing in the doorway. His eyes shot back and forth between Vega and Tali at either side of Shepard. He managed to keep much of the venom out of his voice when he spoke this time. "And may I ask who this Alliance dog and suit rat are?"

Both of them tensed up at the comments, but were held back by the ex-commander. "These are Lieutenant James Vega and Tali'Zorah Vas Normandy." He paused for a second to shoot a look at the colonel, who was noticeably shaken by the turian looming so close to her. "And I'm no longer a member of the military."

General Aquila also glared at the cowering woman. "I see. So the Alliance is as foolish as the Council. No wonder humans were allowed a seat." He broke the stare and took his seat. "Please remove your guard dog and pet before we get started. I don't want there to be any leaks." Another distempered glance at the colonel.

"The lieutenant and Tali can stay. I trust them with my life." His hand gripped the quarian's hand tightly, making it as obvious as possible.

"Woof." Vega said stoically, crossing his massive arms over his chest.

The turian rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine. Just get in here quick so we can get this over with. We've wasted enough time as it is." He waited until they had taken their seats before continuing. "I believe you know Garrus Vakarian." He gestured to the silent turian sitting at the far end of the table.

"It's good to see you again, Shepard." He said in a neutral tone.

"Yeah. You too, Garrus." Shepard responded, a bit off-put by his friend's lack-luster greeting.

Aquila didn't let another moment drop. "We have received some disturbing reports from the far reaches of the galaxy about strange occurrences: pandemics of madness, hauntings, ships going missing. Frankly, we don't know what to make of it."

Shepard nodded. "It's the Reapers, and you know it."

The colonel spoke up this time, her voice still a bit shaky. "There is no proof of that. We have received the same reports. Nothing in there said anything about Reapers or any outside forces, and the systems those reports are coming from are known to have piracy problems."

"Colonel Moore, you knew very well it's more than that." The general snarled. He turned back to Shepard. "You and I may believe in your Reapers, but High Command doesn't. Without evidence, I can't take it to them."

"Then why are you here?" Tali asked, earning an annoyed look from Aquila. She met his gaze without backing down. It was like watching gunslingers duel: each one just waiting for the other to make a move.

Garrus broke the tension before that happened. "Officially, we're here to enlist Alliance help in locating some of our more important missing ships."

"And unofficially?" Shepard cocked an eyebrow.

The answer was slower in coming this time. "We're to make all attempts to coordinate our fleet movements. That way, when the Reapers come, they'll have two fleets to go through."

The colonel stood, shaking. "THERE ARE NO REAPERS! I WILL NOT HAVE THIS MEETING BE A FARCE!"

"Sit down, Colonel." Aquila hissed. "If you don't want to be a part of this, get out. We don't need you here anyway." His eyes closed to slits, and his mandibles drew down, revealing his teeth. She needed no more encouragement.

That left the five of them in the room to discuss the preparations. Well, mainly Shepard and Aquila. The others just sat quietly, interjecting small details when they had something to say. About an hour into it, Tali's omnitool beeped at her. It was a reply from the Admiralty Board. The response was less than pleasant.

_Receiving: Tali'Zorah nar Rayya vas Normandy_

_ Assistance will not be possible. The Fleet has its own concerns and must attend to those first. You are requested back to the Fleet. If you do not arrive within one galactic month, your status among the Fleet will be in jeopardy._

_ Sent: Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay_

_ P.S. Please come home Tali. They are serious about making you an outcast this time. I'm sorry. I did everything I could._

She stared at the message and read it over what must have been a thousand times. _Return to the Migrant Fleet? I can't just leave._ She was oblivious to the question posed to her.

"Tali? Are you listening?" Garrus repeated for the third time.

"What? No. What was the question?"

Aquila sighed and said something under his breath no one caught. "I asked if the quarians are also going to helping stop the Reapers. Shepard said something about a plan you and your comrades set up. Will they be joining us or not?"

She hesitated. "Uh... no. The Admiralty Board has other matters to attend to." She wrung her hands in agitation and looked at the floor.

Aquila nodded and developed a barely perceptible smiling expression. "I see. That's too bad. I thought your people would jump at the chance to-" He stopped when he saw the snarl on Shepard's face. "Ahem, I mean, I'm sorry to hear that." Another moment of silence decided the end of the meeting. With a final parting word, the two turians stood and offered their hands, which Shepard took. Garrus seemed reluctant to allow him.

They went their separate ways: turians toward the Committee chambers (probably to deal with Colonel Moore)and he, Tali, and James back to the the apartment building. Shepard couldn't help but cast a glance back to the Garrus, who was walking slightly behind the general. _I better catch him before they leave._ He thought. The group walked silently back to the aircar. Before they got in, Tali stopped.

The two men looked at her, waiting for her to explain.

"Something's not right." She said, turning back to the building.

"What do you mean?" Shepard asked, coming up to her side.

She put a hand to her vocalizer and tapped the metal rhythmically. "I can't put my finger on it, but something feels wrong."

"What do you mean?" Shepard asked, putting a hand on her arm. "Everything went fine, all things considered."

"I know. It's just that-"

As she spoke, shots rang out from the building as people fled through the halls and screamed. They ran to into back to the building, racing from the source of the shots. "Looks like you were right." Shepard panted at Tali as they ran. Shepard burst through the large doors to the chamber first, quickly followed by the quarian and an armed Vega.

"What the..." Vega said.

The turian general was slumped on the ground, blood pooling around his prone form. It looked like someone shot him multiple times from close range. Still standing beside him, was Garrus, hands behind his back, and a pistol pointed at his head. The man holding the pistol was Ensign Hawkes.

"Put the gun down, Hawkes." Vega said, leveling his own pistol to the man's head. "Now."

The ensign didn't move or even acknowledge the order. He was just staring at Garrus with eyes full of hate. "Garrus Vakarian, you are under arrest. Any attempt to escape will be dealt with." His face was locked in a fierce look of rage.

Garrus stood calmly facing the bench that usually held the Committee members but was only populated with the head of them, Colonel Moore. "If you could tell me why I'm being arrested, I would appreciate it."

"You, Mr. Vakarian, are accused of espionage and terrorism against the Alliance. If you are found guilty, you will be executed according to the law." Her voice was laced with malice. "Ensign Hawkes, please remove the prisoner."

"Like hell you will!" Shepard shouted, steeping forward and meeting the barrel of Hawkes' gun.

"Please, Mr. Shepard. Stay back, or I'll shoot you." He pressed the barrel against Shepard's nose for emphasis.

Shepard stared him down but didn't move from the spot. No one in the room moved or spoke for what felt like an hour before a young man came in quickly.

"Colonel, I have those reports you-" He stopped when he saw the raised guns and everyone staring at him. "Uh..."

Hawkes lowered the gun for a moment, which gave Shepard the opening he needed. With a swift twist, the pistol clattered to the floor a few yards away. Another twist, and Hawkes was subdued by the impressive ex-commander. "Don't move." Shepard whispered harshly.

"Mr. Shepard," Colonel Moore hollered. "What do you think you are doing? If he is found guilty, you'll be executed as an accomplice!"

"And if the turian government finds out you killed a general for no reason, we'll all be hung." Shepard replied.

Garrus nodded solemnly, still maintaining his posture in front of the struggling men. "I don't think you want that, Colonel. You wouldn't want another war on your hands."

The woman was silent, looking down at the party before her: a quarian who had retrieved the fallen gun and was now aiming it at Hawkes, a marine doing the same, the former Spectre and commander restraining the ensign, a turian soldier who was just standing there watching her, and a dead general on the floor. It was quite the story to never tell. "Fine. Ensign, stand down. Shepard, you're on my last nerve. One more screw-up and you're behind bars, you hear me?"

Shepard released the Hawkes, making sure to tighten his grip before. Hawkes glared back at him and rubbed a sore spot. When he went for his gun, Tali pulled it back and shook her head. He cast another glance at Shepard's steely eyes before stomping out of the room. Garrus followed a few seconds later, then Shepard and the other two.

Colonel Moore sighed and slumped on the desk. "Boy by the door, call security to clean up this mess."

"What happened in there?" Shepard asked when they had walked a few paces down the hall from the Committee room.

Garrus shrugged. "I'm not sure. We entered, the general said something about wanting to talk with the Colonel, then that Hawkes guy came out of nowhere and started shooting." The turian dipped his head. "General Aquila never had a chance."

Tali chimed in. "How will Turian High Command react to this?"

Garrus cast a quick glance back to the room before speaking. "If they had cause, High Command will just want the body. But if there was no reason..." His voice trailed off as he searched for a way to put it. "Well, the Relay 314 Incident will look like a cake walk."

"Dammit!" Shepard swore. "We have to make sure that doesn't happen! This is not the time for a new war."

"I couldn't agree with you more, Shepard, but there isn't much we can do." Garrus replied. "I need to get back to our ship and send a message to High Command. Humans and turians are still on shaky ground. Hopefully, they'll only launch an investigation."

And if we're not lucky?" Vega asked.

Garrus looked the large man right in the eyes. "If we're not lucky, it's war."

Hawkes sat inside his small room gazing into the orange light of his omnitool. A call was coming through from his benevolent employer. Now the question was how happy his employer would be when he finds out half the mission failed. Reluctantly, he answered.

"Ensign Hawkes, how did our plan go?" The smooth voice said, his voice telling him he already knew.

"The general is dead, sir. But the other turian..."

"He still lives." The man answered unsurprised. "Good. Everything is going according to plan."

Hawkes couldn't help himself. "What?" He blurted.

The man smiled, his robotic eyes lighting up. "This will spur Shepard forward and ruin his relationship with the Committee." He took a drag on his cigarette. "We can't have the commander interfering with our plans."


	13. A Brick Wall

**Chapter 13: A Brick Wall  
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_Another sleepless night._ Shepard thought, looking into his swirling glass of scotch. _That makes... four, I think._ He took a sip of the dark liquid. _At least I'm not the only one._ He looked over to the large window that served as a wall. Standing there was a grizzled turian soldier gazing out over the city with a lack-luster expression. Tali had insisted Garrus stay with them until his accomodations were ready, something that was looking bleaker and bleaker as the days wore on. With the death of General Aquila, the tenuious peace between the turians and the Alliance stretched almost to a breaking point. Shepard silently gave thanks for whatever kept total war at bay.

In his lap, Tali skwirmed, adjusting her sleeping position. Every night she promised to stay awake only to fall asleep an hour later in Shepard's lap. He didn't mind though, even with her mask on, she looked adorable sleeping.

"Remember the good old days, Shepard?" Garrus asked suddenly. "When we were fighting Saren?"

"Pretty vividly."

The turian nodded, not looking away from the window. Another silence ensued, a reminiscing silence. Then: "When did we go from soldiers to politicians?" He asked.

Shepard chuckled. "That's a good question." He gingerly lifted Tali and moved her head to a pillow on the couch before joining Garrus at the window. "Probably some time after we saved the galaxy twice."

"I don't want to be a politician, Shepard. A statue or two would be fine."

"We don't always get what we want." Shepard took another sip.

Garrus laughed and turned to his friend, his expression visibly softened. "You don't say. I haven't noticed."

"Maybe you would if you looked around a bit." Shepard retorted. "But it's easier when you have a great crew."

"And a great woman." Garrus flicked his head toward the sleeping quarian.

Shepard looked back to her and smiled. He swirled his drink again. _Speaking of..._ "Thanks for not telling her about-"

"Forget about it. Isn't it the best friend's job to keep you from being stupid?" Garrus gave him a stiff slap on the back.

"In my experience, the best friend usually helps do the stupid things."

"Hey, you wanna hijack a dreadnought and go for a joyride, let's go. You want to ruin your life, I'll knock you out before you're two steps away." Garrus looked back out the window at the city being crested by a beautiful dawn.

"I'll keep that in mind." Shepard looked out at the breached skyline as well. _Day five._

**Ulysses Building**

"Shepard, how's it look?" Hackett asked, coming up to join the barely awake man. Even this early in the morning, the admiral looked as prim and proper as ever. It was more than intimidating.

"The turian fleet movements look like flanking maneuvers. If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were preparing for an all-out attack." Shepard squinted at the fleet display in front of him. The size of the turian fleet was enough to unnerve him, but their proximity to Alliance space was almost terrifying. "What do they say?"

Hackett scoffed at the question. "They say it's just normal military maneuvers. Practice. Sounds like nonsense to me.

Anderson appeared from behind a set of computer banks that stood at one end of the room. "Well, there is some good news: the Alliance is bolstering the fleets and new rush of volunteers is hitting the offices hard. "He looked less than thrilled.

Hackett sighed. Too bad it's taken near war with the turians to get us what we need. I'm getting too old for this."

"How's our resident turian?" Anderson asked as if that had been the topic all along.

Shepard shook his head. "Not well. His ship's been impounded and the Committee is taking its sweet time in getting him a place to stay." He put a hand to his temple. Just thinking about that damn Committee gave him a headache. "To make matters worse, High Command blacklisted him. Whoever set this up knew exactly what would happen."

"At least we're only sizing eachother up for now." Anderson replied.

Hackett's response was less encouraging. "All it takes is one nervous soldier."

The other two remained silent, watching the bright blue blips in the hologram before them change nearly every second. Little by little, the blue and red blips moved closer together, mimicking every twitch, huddling around every system with so much as an Alliance freighter in it. The soft little dots belied the fact that each one was an armada of fully-crewed warships ready to fire with one word.

A short alarm droned low in the background. Hackett tapped a contact and the door slipped open revealing a very serious Vega.

"Admirals, commander," He tapped out a quick salute. "Mr. Shepard's presence is requested by the Committee."

"Of course it it." Shepard groaned.

Hackett didn't look away from the ever-changing display. "Get over there, Shepard. Last thing we need is more trouble from the Committee." Shepard saluted and followed the lieutenant out. When the door closed, Hackett crossed his arms over his chest. "You saw the reports too, David?"

Anderson sighed and rubbed his stubbly chin. "I did."

"Then you saw how much time we have left."

"It's not enough."

"It never will be."

The halls of the Ulysses Building were stocked full with soldiers and nearly all of them watched Shepard like a lioness about to pounce. The ex-commander was never nervous around so many Alliance soldiers, but even the slightest move could turn this hall into a gauntlet. And every one of the marines looked fresh as spring.

"Did they say what they wanted?" Shepard asked, trying to take his mind off of the fidgeting soldiers.

Vega shook his head. "They just wanted you in front of them, sir." He dropped back a bit so he was right beside Shepard's ear. "But I did overhear them say something about the turians. It wasn't good."

_Perfect._ Shepard scowled.

The marines by the large doors to the Committee chambers flashed a salute to Vega as he passed while offering Shepard only an angry glare.

The chambers were a stark contrast to the tight, fortified hall: only the Councilors, Hawkes, and a few secretaries populated this vast room. They all looked up from their work when Shepard entered.

"Mr. Shepard, how are the fleets coming along?" Colonel Moore asked, cocking her head to the side.

Shepard raised an eyebrow at her question, Surely she would know. Better than he did, even. "The fleets' movements are matching exactly. The shipyards are overworking to build a dozen top-of-the-line cruisers. And we have more volunteers than ever. Ma'am." He added that last part in just to irk her. It seemed to work pretty well too.

She narrowed her gaze. "Good." The reply was far cooler than he had hoped. "And has your turian friend any information on his fleets?" She stressed the "his".

_There it is._ "He's been blacklisted. High Command has been silent."

She nodded and jotted something down, he couldn't see what. The other members peaked over to her notes and nodded. A simple act that made Shepard feel far more guarded.

"Your turian friend needs a place to stay, I see." She said most likely just to herself. "We are working on that. At the moment, other matters are far more important than giving him residence. Please offer the turian our apologies." All this was said in the most bland tone a human could produce. Unfortunately, though, she was right.

"Committee members, we need to work faster. There isn't much more time before the Reapers will be here. We need to negotiate peace." Shepard pleaded. The members all shot stern looks at his out-of-turn outburst.

"Mr. Shepard," A man at the far end of the table spoke through gritted teeth. "We are not at war with the turians. And we do not take diplomatic advice from criminals no matter their history." The others nodded slowly in agreement.

Another woman, a young one, spoke up. "We are handling the situation as it develops, Mr. Shepard. That is all you need to concern yourself with on this matter." Even with her respectful demeanor, it wasn't hard to see she was anything but.

Hawkes watched all this happen with a tug at his lips. So far, the plan was following through just as his employer had predicted. With all the "reports" the Committee had gotten on Shepard, not one of them trusted the former soldier. It was all working out brilliantly. As Shepard walked out, the esign allowed himself a slight smile. His report would contain only good news.

"Ensign Hawkes," Colonel Moore turned to the man. "I would like you to post a watch on Shepard. I don't want him to be out of our direct sight."

He saluted and walked briskly out of the room. It was the perfect time to send his report. He looked around in the hall for a quiet corner he could quickly send it out. There was a shadow in the corner of his eye though. _Someone's a little too curious._ He pretended not to see it and power-walked down the hall toward a small office that was almost always empty. The mysterious shadow followed.

The office was indeed small, room only for a desk and a cabinet. Even its view was poor, just a narrow window overlooking a bustling walkway. It was the perfect place to ambush his tail. Around the corner of the door, he pulled out a Paladin pistol, his baby. Another moment, a large man came through the door brandishing his own pistol. Hawkes grinned.

"Lieutenant Vega, what a pleasant surprise." He said with mock cheer. His facade was dropped instantly afterward. "What are you doing?"

The large man stood up straight, lowering his firearm. The last thing he needed was a hole in his neck where Hawkes' pistol was. "I was just coming to talk. That's a nice piece you got there."

"Just coming to talk? When did you start talking with a gun?"

"When did Alliance soldiers start threatening eachother?" Vega replied, cauing Hawkes to jam the chamber against his skin even more.

"About the same time you started following me with your gun out."

Vega slowly turned to face the ensign, every moment challenged by the gun at his throat. "Why don't you just put it down, amigo? No one needs to get hurt."

Hawkes lowered the pistol to cover Vega's heart. "Leave now and no one will be." He hissed.

The lieutenant knew there was no win here. Ever so slowly, he retreated out the door, closely shadowed by Hawkes and his Paladin. It wasn't until he was fully in the hall that Hawkes took his aim off the man.

_Vega is going to be a problem._

**MEANWHILE, [REDACTED]**

Shepard came through the door in a huff. It was hard to get him this angry, but the whole damn galaxy seemed to be dropping I.Q. points daily. If something didn't change soon...

"What's going on Shepard?" The cool voice of Garrus brought his attention out of his thoughts. The turian was leaning against the back of the couch, arms crossed rigidly.

"That damn Committee has gone insane!" Shepard couldn't hold it in any longer. James had asked to stay longer to talk to a friend, so Shepard had to drive back. There were more than a few close calls. "They refuse to talk with High Command, they have the gall to question all my, Anderson, and Hackett's advice, and to top it all off, they act like we're traitors! What I would give for a pissed-off geth warship right now!

Garrus just looked at him blankly. "What?"

His tone completely stopped the raging Shepard. "What what?"

"What would you give?"

Shepard couldn't even react for a moment. All that anger defused in a simple, foolish sentence. All that time brewing on his thoughts wasted. "It's an idiom." He finally said.

"Right." Garrus said, elongating his word more than it should be. It was a little trick Tali had taught him.

Shepard was much calmer now. If he wasn't so focused on what he needed to do, he might have thought his old friend did that on purpose. "How the hell are we going to stop an interstellar war?" He said to himself.

Garrus just burst out laughing, earning a less than friendly look from Shepard. "I'm sorry, but you want us to stop an interstellar war without even a shuttle to fly in?" He simmered down to a chuckle as he spoke. "Shepard, there isn't much we could do." The ex-commander leaned heavily against the wall beside the bed, rubbing his scruffy neck.

"I know." He said. "It's hard not to be out there fighting. God, when this war is over, I'm retiring."

"Retiring? The great John Shepard? I'm afriad I can't see that happening."

A smile crossed Shepard's face. "I might even have a couple kids."

Garrus threw up his hands. "I already heard about this once. That's more than enough."

"What about you?"

The turian scratched his chin for a moment. Retirement wasn't something he thought about very often. Too many things seemed to keep him in: Reapers, geth, Shepard... "That's a good question. I never thought about it."

Shepard pressed on. "Never thought about having kids?"

"Once. There was this woman I meant on the Citadel. I wanted to settle down with."

"Tell me about her."

Garrus had to think for a had been a long time since he last saw her. So much had happened since. "It was... about a year before I met you. She was something. Tall, smart, a smartass. Everything just seemed so right around her." He paused and gazed off into the distance. "Heh, I haven't even thought about her all this time." He let out a low sigh. Now wasn't the time to be talking about this.

Garrus didn't have to say anything. Shepard could tell the turian didn't want to talk about it without a word. They kept the silence for awhile, neither one really had much to say now, and Shepard had some thinking to do about the Committee. However, he noticed Tali wasn't with them.

"Uh..."

"She went out to get something. I forget what." Garrus answered immediately, growing a smile. "Just now noticed?"

Shepard kept his mouth shut. Hopefully his friend would keep his mouth shut about this too. A strange moment of realization hit the man like a lead brick. "Were you serious about helping me hijack a dreadnought?"

The turian grinned. "What did you have in mind?"

* * *

><p>I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to post! Life has been so hectic (as usual) and I haven't had as much of a chance to work on this as I'd like. It doesn't help that I set myself up for some awesome story arcs that make me nervous to write. Anyway, here is the next chapter and it won't be nearly as long of a wait again. Thank you to everyone that is still reading this after such a long wait. I'm lucky to have readers like you.<p> 


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